The Gallatin Bulldogs discarded their run-and-gun game Saturday night to win the 6th Annual Hamilton Invitational Tournament.
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The Gallatin Bulldogs discarded their run-and-gun game Saturday night long enough to pull down Trenton, 42-33, for the championship crown of the 6th Annual Hamilton Invitational Tournament. The Bulldogs posted some improbable numbers in a victory that avenged one of only 2 regular season losses.
Lack of field goals and poor free throw shooting still did not deter the Dogs, who were outscored, 12-7, down the stretch. As a team, the Bulldogs connected on only 7 of 24 free throw attempts in the final 8 minutes. The Bulldogs did not score again from the field after a 3rd period in which they ripped the net for 4 3- pointers.
“Making our free throws is the one area we’ve worked the hardest on over the last two months,” said GHS coach Rick Lin. “We’ve shot pretty well in practice but for some reason our routine changes when we get up there in a game,” he added. “I think we just need to calm down.”
Gallatin turned “B-ball” into “3-ball” in the first 3 quarters by nailing 9 of 18 attempts. The Bulldogs notched 15 of their first 19 points from beyond the arc and added 4 more treys in the 3rd quarter. Tournament most valuable player Chad Sullenger finished with 4 treys, Quentin Carroll contributed 3 and Neal Steward added a pair. Trenton’s Bulldogs combined to hit 4 of 20 long range shots.
Gallatin, with an effective zone defense that kept THS rebounders off the boards, gave up only 4 points in the 2nd quarter and led Trenton, 19-14, at the break. Trenton managed to score only 7 points in the 3rd period.
“The last time we played them, they scored a lot in transition,” Coach Lin said. “We wanted to make sure this time we got back on defense, so we decided not to go with the press,” he added.
Gallatin beat Trenton’s half court trapping defense in the 3rd quarter with a spread offense and quick and accurate cross-court passes. The Bulldogs were still able to control the tempo of play. Gallatin’s game total of 4 2-point field goals, 3 from Robert Heldenbrand and another from Kenny Youtsey, could be considered meager but Trenton’s total of 6 was little better.
“We wanted to slow the game down, but they made that harder to do when they went to their half court trap,” Coach Lin stated. “We showed a lot of patience in a pressure situation,” he added.
Gallatin shot 4 of 26 from inside the 2-point arc. Trenton converted just 6 of 24 from 2-point land.
The GHS Bulldogs claimed 19 of their 28 rebounds on the defensive end. Likewise, Trenton pulled down 25 of 33 rebounds on the defensive side. That left few 2nd chance possession for either team.
Sullenger finished with a game-high 14 points. Carroll and Steward added 9 and 7, respectively, for Gallatin.
Miracle comeback
The Bulldogs had to battle from 16 points back in the 3rd quarter to beat Albany, 54-52, Thursday night in the semifinal round. Albany took a 14-0 lead off the opening tip but Gallatin scored the next 11 points to get back in the game at the end of the 1st period. The Bulldogs’ first lead, 39-38, came with Sullenger’s back door layup to start the 4th quarter.
The lead changed hands 6 times in the final 8 minutes. Nathan Henderson hit 2 big free throws for the Bulldogs to make it 53-49 and force the Warriors into a 2-possession game with 31 seconds remaining. A 3-pointer by Albany point guard Jeff Adkins rattled in, out and back in at 0:16. Carroll ran the baseline and tossed the ensuing in-bounds pass to Sullenger, who quickly whipped the ball to Heldenbrand across the half court stripe. He hit the back end of a 2-shot foul to give the Dogs a 54-52 cushion with 11 seconds left.
Adkins tried a trey shot from the corner that caromed to Youtsey on the weak side. He drew a foul but missed from the line. Ben Homan rebounded for the Warriors and launched a closely-guarded, but unsuccessful, 3-point attempt from in front of the AHS bench.
The Warriors hurt their cause by nailing only 5 of 14 free throw attempts in the 2nd half. The Warriors were shooting 2-shot fouls for the final 5 minutes but managed to hit only the back side of each attempt.
Carroll, Sullenger and Heldenbrand combined for 48 of Gallatin’s 54 counters. Carroll led with 17 points and 7 steals. Sullenger added 16 points to go with 7 assists. Heldenbrand chipped in 15 points and 9 rebounds.