2011-12 Basketball: Dogs survive upset bid by Hawks to advance to semifinal round

It took the third-seeded Gallatin boys nearly 20 minutes to grab a lead in Monday night’s first round game of the Gallatin Invitational. Once they had it, they needed to hold on tight against upset-minded Gilman City.

The Bulldogs turned back a strong charge from the Hawks to win, 59-56, in a game in which the Hawks led for most of the contest, and by as many as 12 points coming out of the gate. The win sets up Thursday’s late night pairing of Gallatin and Trenton for the right to meet either Hamilton or Tri-County in Saturday’s championship.

Gilman City was able to pinch the lane and limit shots in the early going and looked to pull away in the second quarter. The Dogs, however, made a run, beginning with two minutes left in the half.

Mitchell Vanderslice scored off a Dexter Daniel feed to pull Gallatin withing three points. Preston Turley nailed a trey early in the third period to narrow the gap to 32-31. Brandon Hunt muscled a shot underneath with 3:36 on the clock to give the Dogs their first lead. Hunt sandwiched another bucket between another Turley trey and putback to build a 41-35 GHS cushion heading into the final period.

Gallatin lead by seven early but a Mason Ward three-pointer and Brennon Carey power move tied the score at 49-49. Derrick Lin’s trey at 2:33 gave the Bulldogs a lead they would never relinquish, though the Hawks went down fighting after a Carey trey kept the outcome within one possession.

The Hawks controlled a missed free throw attempt with 10 seconds left, but guard Ryan Burrows lost the ball when trying to set up for a game-tying three-point shot.

Hunt led Gallatin with 19 points and eight rebounds. Turley finished with 13 points. Lin chipped in 12 for the Bulldogs.

Ward totaled a game-high 29 points for the Hawks. Carey added 13.

Hamilton defeated Winston, 72-16, in Monday’s late first round contest. The Hornets will meet Tri-County, a 63–31 winner over Maysville, at 5:45 on Thursday.