Gallatin’s boys used a 23 of 39 showing from the free throw line to trip Plattsburg, 66-60, in non-conference action Tuesday night at GHS.
This website brought to you in part by the following sponsor:
The two teams combined for 47 fouls over four quarters of play, and 62 free throw attempts, but surprisingly no players fouled out.
The Bulldogs spread the wealth early on. Brett Wilkinson was tenacious in the paint against taller opponents and muscled in three buckets. Andrew Tudorowski hit a three-pointer, part of his 9 points in the first quarter and team-high 25 for the game, to give Plattsburg a 19-17 lead, but Jon Brown’s putback on the other end tied the score ahead of the buzzer.
By the middle of the second quarter, the landscape had changed from who could hit the most outside shots to who could convert the most chances from the free throw line. When the half ended, the Bulldogs had hit 13 of 21 free throws. The Tigers owned 12 field goals, five from behind the arc.
A field goal by Wilkinson and three-point play from Kyle Andrew to open the third quarter had Gallatin knocking at the door of their first lead. The Dogs reversed the ball to Burrell in the corner and he nailed the shot to give Gallatin a 40-39 advantage. The Bulldogs would expand their lead to 50-42 heading into the final period.
Dillon Bird hit a crucial three-point shot for the Dogs at 4:13 to keep it a two-possession game. Burrell followed with a trey after a Tiger turnover. Wilkinson stole the ball and Burrell would head to the free throw line for a toss that would give Gallatin its biggest lead, 60-54, since the end of the third period.
Andrew stepped to the line with a minute showing on the clock and nailed a pair of free throws. Adkison, fouled on a break away attempt, converted twice from the line, and the Bulldogs led, 65-58.
The game finished with a rush as the Tigers fired up shot after shot, but Gallatin finally controlled the ball and Burrell tacked on a final free throw.
The Bulldogs prevailed with one of their most-balanced offensive nights of the season. Burrell led all Gallatin scorers with 24 points. Adkison finished with 16. Wilkinson chipped in 12, Bird contributed 7 and Andrew rounded out the starting five with 5 points.
What’s ahead
The Bulldogs face a tough conference test this Friday against an Albany team that has lost to only two opponents thus far. TheWarriors, 9-4, are happy to be done with the Jefferson Eagles. One of the top boys teams in Northwest Missouri, regardless of class, the Eagles have beaten the Warriors three times, by an average of 36 points per game, though the Warriors played them to within 24 points Saturday night.
If the GRC boys title is up for grabs this season, Albany appears to be one of the teams ready to challenge for it. The Warriors feature much the same "one-two" scoring punch that has carried the Bulldogs in the early going. Travis Girratono, a lightning quick 5’6" senior guard, averages 14.6 points per game, while 6’3" senior forward Corey Youngclaus has scored at a 13.8 points per game clip.
Gallatin enters Friday night’s clash with guard Nic Burrell averaging 20 points per game and forward Andrew Adkison scoring at a 19 points per game pace.