End of regular season near, along with Class 2, District 16 Tournament
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Gallatin varsity basketball teams find themselves in the middle of a hectic, season-ending schedule grueling enough to test the mettle of even the most veteran of squads.
By next Tuesday, the first day of action for boys in Class 2, District 16, the Bulldog boys will have played six games in the span of eight school days. By Monday, the Lady Bulldogs will have suited up five times in seven days when school has been in session.
Gallatin’s boys are the #3 seed in District 16, and will face #6 Princeton in the opening round at 9 p.m. on Tuesday. Putnam County, the #2 seed, will square off against #7 Albany, and the winners of the two games will meet in next Thursday’s semifinal round. Putnam County’s most-recent loss was a five-point setback at the hand of Newtown-Harris.
The fourth-seeded Lady Bulldogs will have to get by Maysville one more time if they hope to face top-seeded Tarkio, likely to be a winner over Worth County in Monday’s opening round. Gallatin’s girls tip off Monday at 4:30 p.m. vs. the Lady Wolverines.
GHS teams wrapped up Grand River Conference play this past week, and played Bishop LeBlond last night (Tuesday) in their traditional last-week-of-the-season meeting. Gallatin’s boys will host East Buchanan on Thursday (jayvee start at 6 p.m.), and both GHS squads will travel to Lathrop on Friday for the end of the regular season.
;@10left = Split vs. Stanberry
Gallatin’s girls suffered their third conference loss at Stanberry on Friday after feeling first quarter momentum slip away. Gallatin led, 13-9, at the end of the first quarter, but Stanberry stretched a one-point third quarter advantage into a 48-44 victory.
Despite the loss of junior point guard Marci Luke to a knee injury in late January, Stanberry won, in conference, for the third time in four games. Stanberry closed its GRC season at 4-4 after holding a state ranking prior to the loss of Luke.
A 5-for-10 night from the free throw line by Gallatin paled in comparison to Stanberry’s 15-for-19 showing. Kelsha Bundy and Wren Tolen each notched 11 points to lead the GHS girls, while Courtney Ray chipped in 10.
Gallatin’s boys also jumped out in front, 11-2, in the first quarter, and successfully held off a much-improved Stanberry boys team to claim a 53-51 conference win.
Gallatin’s box score showed good balance with Nic Burrell leading the way with 17 points, Brett Wilkinson chipping in 11, Andrew Adkison finishing with 9 and Kayle Hefley popping in 8.
Stanberry’s final mark of 5-3 in the GRC is the best showing by a SHS boys team since 1998.
;@10left = Sweep of Princeton
The Lady Bulldogs went on a 10-0 run to the closing horn and overcame a 25-23 third quarter deficit to post a 38-29 GRC victory over Princeton in the last of all conference girls matchups.
With the win, Gallatin earned a third place tie with Maysville at 6-3. Hamilton blasted Albany on Saturday to finish 9-0 in the conference. Albany dropped to 7-2 with the loss.
Tolen cashed in with back-to-back buckets in the middle of the fourth quarter to give the Lady Bulldogs the lead to stay over the Lady Tigers. Tolen led all GHS scorers with 13 points. Bundy added 9 and Ayrica Batson chipped in 6 for Gallatin.
Gallatin’s boys had little trouble finishing 8-1, and all alone in second place behind South Harrison in conference play, as they bombed the Tigers, 71-45, in the nightcap. Gallatin boys teams have posted records above .500 in league play 17 times in the last 18 seasons.
Gallatin led Princeton, 41-15, at half, despite subbing freely in the second period. Adkison led Bulldog scorers with 16 points and Hefley reached double figures with 13. Burrell and Colt Bohannon each contributed 9 points. Jon Brown dumped in 7. Wilkinson and Andy Ward each finished with 6 for Gallatin.
;@10left = Wrong end of broom
Both Bulldog teams faced a similar late-game situation last night against LeBlond.
The Lady Bulldogs entered the fourth quarter with the difficult task of making up a 12-point deficit when they had tallied only 18 points through the three previous periods. A 3 ½ minute scoreless stretch didn’t help their situation. LeBlond needed only a pair of field goals in the final 8 minutes to hold on to a 35-23 decision.
The Lady Bulldogs’s shooting woes of late continued, as they shot 27% from two-point distance and just 29% overall. The Lady Eagles countered with a 54% rate from inside the three-point arc.
For the second straight game, Gallatin depended almost entirely on post scoring. Tolen’s seven points led the way. Bundy and Batson chipped in six and five points, respectively, for the GHS girls, who fell to 17-7 overall.
LeBlond’s boys used a pinching 1-3-1 defense to snuff the Bulldog attack and control the game’s pace. The Eagles led the entire distance, but three times in the second half the Dogs were able to pull closer with mini rallies.
Colt Bohannon scored off a power move in the lane, and added a free throw to close the gap to 31-29 inside the opening minute of the fourth quarter, but LeBlond countered with a surge of its own and eventually won pulling away, 47-39.
Ward was a consistent scorer for the Bulldogs from the wing and baseline. His three buckets in the first half and two treys in the third quarter, along with a deuce, kept Gallatin in the running as the Eagle defense successfully limited scoring chances for Burrell and Adkison.
Ward finished with 11 points. Adkison chipped in nine. Burrell and Bohannon each tallied seven in the loss.
The Bulldogs take a 17-5 record into Friday’s regular season finale at Lathrop.