Gallatin, led by Nic Burrell’s 33-point effort, surged in the second half to defeat Princeton, 68-46
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Hold on to your hats, ‘cause the Grand River Conference boys basketball race is set for an explosive finish.
What has been one of the oddest, most unpredictable seasons could come down to a photo finish Friday with three games that will decide who gets a piece of the conference pie. Gallatin hosts Stanberry, South Harrison hosts Hamilton and Worth County travels to Albany for clashes that will break a three-team logjam atop the boys standings.
Tuesday night’s results set the stage.
Vs. Princeton
Gallatin, led by Nic Burrell’s 33-point effort, surged in the second half to defeat Princeton, 68-46, in front of a home crowd. South Harrison got 38 points from sophomore Brad Madison as the Bulldogs held off an upset bid by Albany, 68-60, in overtime. Albany came from nine points back in the fourth quarter to force the extra period.
Maysville continued its role as giant killer by knocking off Hamilton, 46-44, with a fourth period rally. The Wolverines have now defeated all three co-leaders in the boys standings.
A victory for Gallatin on Friday assures the Bulldogs a share of the GRC crown. South Harrison can also cut a piece of the pie Friday if it beats Hamilton. The Hornets stay in the picture with a win over South Harrison, but they must travel to North Platte on Thursday of next week, then head to Grant City the next night to play Worth County in a make-up game.
Worth County, now at 3-3, sneaks back into the room only if Gallatin and South Harrison lose on Friday, and Hamilton loses to Worth County next week.
Gallatin blew open a close game with Princeton last night with a sizzling second-half surge that carried them away from a 29-28 halftime lead. Andrew Adkison, who finished with 23 points, led the initial charge by becoming the go-to guy in the third quarter. He canned nine of Gallatin’s first 11 points to start the Dogs on a roll toward a solid double-digit advantage.
Burrell put the exclamation point on the victory with four of his five treys coming in the final period, but it was another feat of shooting prowess that will earn him recognition in the MSHSAA state record book.
Burrell, who scored 17 of his personal best from the field, sizzled at the free throw line by nailing 16-of-16 attempts in the game. Only a couple of dozen players are in the record book with a perfect performance at the foul line in at least 12 attempts. Cole Thurman of Atlanta holds the overall record by hitting all 21 attempts in a game last season.
Gallatin’s previous best showing at the free throw line was Keith Morrissey’s 14-of-15 night against Hamilton during the 1971-72 season.
As a team, the Bulldogs shot 21-of-23 from the foul line. That too, is good enough for 20th best in the MSHSAA record book.
Gallatin got big contributions on the defensive side, as well. Brett Wilkinson, before exiting the game in the fourth quarter after banging a knee, held Tiger leading scorer Jeff Lutzen to four points. Lutzen, who came in with a 17.7 scoring average, finished with 10 after hitting three buckets down the stretch.
The Bulldogs also got a strong game from senior Kyle Andrew, who finished with six points, but pulled down some big rebounds when the issue was still in doubt.
Vs. South Harrison
The Bulldogs beat South Harrison, 50-37, last Friday, with quicker hands and feet in the fourth quarter. Adkison finished with 19 points to lead Gallatin. Burrell chipped in 14 and Wilkinson added nine, including four straight free throws in less than 10 seconds down the stretch.