Bulldogs with 2nd consecutive GRC win

Teamwork and a balanced, aggressive attack on both ends of the court propelled the Gallatin Bulldogs to their second consecutive GRC victory last night, a surprising 72-47 decision over Stanberry. Gallatin was in command throughout the exciting, fast- paced contest.

Gallatin created their own luck by hustling rebounds, shoveling passes to the open man, and frustrating Stanberry with overwhelming quickness. The Big Red punctuated their game with 10 trey shots – four each by Chad Sullenger and Quentin Carroll.

Stanberry’s best success came early with two quick baskets to start the game. But sophomore Robert Heldenbrand played big inside the paint offensively as Kenny Youtsey pulled down his share of rebounds. Then Sullenger notched his a pair of trey shots.

Stanberry soon faltered from its half-court zone defense and lost composure by sending two wild shots wide off the backboard followed by an air ball. The visiting Bulldogs called time out With 1:48 left in the first quarter but the damage was already done.

Heldenbrand followed his shot for a putback, pushing Gallatin’s lead to 14-6. Bob McQuinn hit a pair of free throws and later skied high for a basket to help Stanberry rally, 14-10.

Gallatin’s best play in the early going ended the first stanza. Nate Henderson and Sullenger leisurely tossed the ball across the backcourt to lure the Stanberry defense away from the basket. Then Sullenger whipped the ball hard to Youtsey underneath to score a 16-10 lead a at the buzzer.

Carroll was a factor in the second period for Gallatin. After the teams exchanged baskets, “Q” hit a trey from the wing and then promptly stole the ball from Stanberry on the press. Henderson kept Gallatin’s possession alive by alertly bouncing the ball of Stanberry legs out of bounds. Sullenger later snatched an errant pass at midcourt, flipping hard to Heldenbrand at the low post for an easy bucket.

That put Gallatin up 21-12, but the flurry continued. Heldenbrand stole the basketball on the press but found himself too far under the basket for a successful shooting angle. Stanberry finally took possession, but briefly. Carroll tipped a pass to Joey Evans which eventually led to a “Q” basket for 3 points. Another Heldenbrand theft and layup pushed the score to 28-12.

Stanberry hustled. Darin VanVactor stripped away a dribble and drove the length of the court for a layup despite being fouled. His 3 points followed a lucky bank shot for the visiting Bulldogs. But not only did Stanberry seem a step slow during this ball game but sometimes a thought off. A non-scoring play proved to be an indicator.

Youtsey and Heldenbrand battled for every rebound. At one point, Heldenbrand was unable to cleanly pull the carom down, and so spiked the basketball away from Stanberry out of bounds to the far end of the court. Stanberry could have gathered the loose ball but choose to let the ball roll – and allow Gallatin the opportunity to set up their full court press.

The 36-22 halftime count only widened. Gallatin’s aggressive attack kept Stanberry untracked. When Neal Steward canned a trey from the corner, Gallatin owned a 57-37 lead that leaped upward again as Steward’s theft of an inbounds eventually resulted in a basket by Carroll with more than 4 minutes left to play. Three more trey bombs exploded for Gallatin before the final buzzer cleared the way to the 72-47 final.

Heldenbrand and Sullenger provided the inside-outside punch that doomed Stanberry with 22 and 20 points respectively. Quentin Carroll added 14 points. Stanberry was led by VanVactor’s 15 points and 12 points by McQuinn.