Late Saturday afternoon, the varsity boys basketball team debuted defeating the Grand Island Northwest Vikings 63-49 in comeback fashion. This is the first time the team has had a winning record and has set the expectations for the season.
“I feel like at this time last year, you got down 11 and struggled to come back,” head coach Cooper Anthony said. “They handled adversity and took care of business in the second half.”
The first quarter set the tone for the rest of the game, with three early fouls and the Griffins going down by six within the first three minutes. It was also a rough scoring quarter for both teams, ending 16-9 with five fouls committed by each team.
“We didn’t start great,” forward senior Grant Rice said. “But we did a good job of fighting back and staying in it.”
The second quarter was similar, and foul trouble became a big issue. Two starting guards; junior Jake Hawley and senior Talan Hovie subbed out with three fouls, while forward senior Carter Craven had three as well. The Griffins cut the lead to 31-26 with all the momentum going to halftime.
“Going into halftime we knew we would win,” Rice said. “We knew that if we played harder, were more physical than them, then we would come out with the win.”
They did exactly that, starting the third quarter on a 12-4 run, and didn’t look back.
“Our scoring started from defense,” guard sophomore Drayke Brown said. “Once we could get into transition and find open teammates they[shots] started falling.”
Brown finished the game with 23 points on 6 for 15 from the field and 6 for 8 from the free-throw line. He was the only double-digit scorer for the Griffins and stepped up when they needed it the most.
Extra possessions also helped them keep running, with Rice pulling down four offensive rebounds and Hawley grabbing two. Also, six of the 10 steals were recorded in the quarter and ended with the Griffins up 47-41.
The second-half domination continued into the fourth quarter, scoring with ease and shutting down the Viking offense to just eight points, with a final score of 63-49.
“We got punched in the mouth early, but we faced it and overcame it,” Brown said
The team plays next today at Lincoln Pius X against Gretna at 7:15 P.M.
