GREENE COUNTY
The Greene County boys basketball team found some momentum this past weekend after winning consecutive games for the first time this season.
Last Friday, the Tigers overcame a halftime deficit to defeat cross-town rival Lake Oconee Academy 45-35 and then won their game against Georgia School for Innovation and Classics (GSIC) 57-40 the next day.
First-year head coach Mark Wright acknowledged that despite his team battling adversity, they continue to compete with effort.
“We definitely have the potential for resiliency, and it shows in spurts. When they are able to see the successes of being resilient, they hit another gear, but we’re a young team,” Wright said. “Five to seven of our guys are sophomores playing most of the minutes, so they aren’t the most experienced, but they’ve made up for it in effort.”
Greene County started its matchup against LOA by playing aggressively on the defensive end.
Wright’s team jumped out to an early 10-5 lead to start the game before letting Lake Oconee Academy tie it up at the end of the first quarter.
In the second, the Titans started to find some success from beyond the arc, and senior guard William Goss caught fire, making four 3-pointers in the first half. By halftime rolled around, the hosting Tigers found themselves down by seven points.
The third quarter was a defensive battle, but Wright’s squad could not cut into the deficit any more than they already had.
It was the defense in the final quarter that really turned it around for Greene County. The Tigers held the Titans to three points in the last eight minutes. They scored 20 points in the final quarter and defeated LOA by 10.
Whether it was the Tigers’ zone or man press, both fullcourt sets ended up causing issues for the Titans. Greene’s Kamari Smith played valuable minutes, and Wright believed it was his performance that motivated his teammates to make a push at the end of the game.
“[Smith] didn’t play the majority of the first half of the season but has always stayed diligent and has never quit,” Wright said. “He’s never complained about playing time, and when he had his opportunity to step in while we were short-handed, he made the most of it. He gave us a lot of energy, and we’re going to depend on that down the road.”
After the rivalry win, Greene County defeated the GSIC Patriots last Saturday to win its second-straight contest.
Looking ahead, Wright hopes his young squad can learn from these moments to better develop for future seasons.
“I’m reminding these guys all the time to think about the bigger picture, and understand that this year is just one year for most of them,” Wright said. “They’ve got to gel and build a chemistry together, but even with all that adversity, I think they’re right where they need to be to start to see consistent success.”