Greenwaves make it five straight wins over Breck with 56-36 victory
By Zach Greenwell With his team only up by six heading into the fourth quarter against Breckinridge County on Dec. 7 after claiming a 12-point lead at halftime, Greenwave basketball head coach Jerry Garris wanted to see his players refocus and close out the district matchup with intensity. “I was upset at the end of third because we weren’t guarding as well,” said Garris. “We let down a little bit and weren’t as sharp on either end.”
However, the Greenwaves answered Garris’ challenge, scoring 18 unanswered points and ending the game on a 20-6 run to defeat the Fighting Tigers, 56-36, in their first home game of the season. “We’ve done a really good job of closing out games this year,” said senior Riley Benock, who totaled 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and five steals in the game. “We got some easy baskets, got a little bit of a lead back, and once you do that you can relax a little and just play.” “We just flat out got after them,” said Garris. “We were able to get some big consecutive steals and held them scoreless for a good six minutes.” The Greenwaves’ victory over Breck was their fifth straight against their district foe, and fourth straight since Meade entered the 11th District at the beginning of last season. “I think we are sending a message that we are here and we’re going to be here for a while,” said Benock. “Right now I think we have the upper hand in this rivalry and I hope we can keep it that way.” The rivalry brought its usual capacity crowd, as both sides of the gym were filled, and Meade’s student section proved that it would once again be active and exciting as in year’s past. “I think it gets in their heads a lot when they take the ball out in front of the student section,” said junior Nick Stinnett, who recorded his first career double-double in the contest with 15 points and 11 rebounds. “I know it gets loud during free throws so in a lot of ways it’s like having a sixth man on the floor.” “The kids really enjoy that atmosphere,” said Garris. “We have had really good support the last few years and our guys feed off of that. I even had some referees tell me this spring that they enjoyed refereeing our games because our atmosphere was so good, and I think that’s a tribute to our school and our community.” Senior Tigers guard James Young opened the game by connecting on a three-pointer, but Benock quickly answered with a long-range shot of his own and a jump shot to put Meade up, 5-3. Young knocked down two more shots in the quarter, with the last bringing Breck to within 13-9, but a three-pointer by Meade junior Rob Williams gave the Greenwaves breathing room and a 16-9 advantage at the end of the first quarter. “We were a little of out of position early,” said Garris. “But once we adjusted he (Young) had a hard time shooting over us and we went after every rebound.” The Tigers moved back within 19-15 early in the second quarter, but the Greenwaves handled the pressure well by sparking a 12-3 run of their own. After Williams netted two straight baskets, Benock put a cap on the quarter in a big way. The senior guard scored six of Meade’s last eight points in the quarter, including a tough three-pointer at the buzzer that swelled the Greenwaves’ halftime lead to 31-18. “I think it’s always good to score at the buzzer no matter what the score is to give you a little momentum,” said Garris. “We played a pretty good half of basketball and that shot was the icing on the cake.” “Anytime you can make a shot before the buzzer it gives you confidence,” said Benock. “That shot, plus having a 13-point lead on our rival, made us feel good going into the locker room.” The Greenwaves struggled in the third quarter as Breck was able to cut the deficit to only six points. Fortunately, Meade had one last run in them. Junior Nick Stinnett opened the quarter with seven straight points to make the Greenwaves’ lead, 43-30, and Meade continued that run to 18-0 before Breck’s Justin Reynolds sank two free throws to make the score 54-32. “I think a lot of that came from our defense,” said Garris. “We got some steals and kept them from getting any offensive boards. When you rebound well and don’t give second chance opportunities, you will be all right.” After junior Chris Roe converted two more free throws and the Tigers scored four last points in the final minute, the game came to an end as Meade picked up their fourth win of the season. The Greenwaves dominated the boards against Breck, outrebounding the Tigers, 40-21. Meade has won the battle on the glass in each of their first five games this season. “I know I’m sounding like a broken record here, but our success has come off of the same things early on,” said Garris. “When you limit people to one shot, you come out in pretty good shape.” The athletic Young only scored three more points in the game after his solid first quarter, going 4 of 12 from the field for 10 points. “He had a hard time shooting over Riley,” said Garris. “He’s not used to having someone 6’5” guarding him and that caused problems for him. I hoped that as long as we could keep him from getting in a rhythm, then they would have problems scoring some points.” “We knew it would be a tough matchup because of his quickness and athleticism,” said Benock. “He will find ways to score, so the best bet is really to take your chances with him from outside. His scoring early came from being out of position and after we made some adjustments, we contained him pretty well.” While Meade enjoyed taking a victory from their big-time rival, the sweetest part of their first home win, according to the team, is that it makes them the early leader in the 11th District race. “It felt really good and it’s always nice to beat your rival at home,” said Stinnett. “But what’s more important is that we are 2-0 in district. Now Breck and Hancock County have to play each other and one of them will already have two losses.” “This was a load off of my back, to be honest,” said Garris. “With Breck and Hancock playing on Tuesday, one of those groups is already going to be two games behind in mid-December. Nothing is ever guaranteed to get to region, but being the number one seed is definitely a big advantage we’d like to have.” Breck Co. 9 9 12 6 – 36
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Photo by Brian Alsip
Photo by Brian Alsip