Bulldogs Fall to Top-Seeded Cards, 74-59, in Title Game

Gallatin’s boys played even basketball with top-seeded Lawson for 28 minutes in Saturday night’s championship game of the Lawson Invitational. The only trouble is, they found themselves down, 22-5, after the game’s first four minutes.

A slow start had the Bulldogs playing catch-up ball as they struggled to make a permanent dent in a double digit Lawson lead that held up for more than three quarters and produced a 74-59 LHS victory. Despite one of their best nights from the three-point arc, the Bulldogs couldn’t make enough defensive stops in the second half to get to within striking distance.

Lawson’s Cody Glenn hit four long-range shots in the opening half and it was his offensive firepower that sparks the Cardinals to a 40-27 lead at the break.

The Bulldogs were able to briefly cut the deficit to eight points in the third quarter after Grant Simmons converted a pair of free throw attempts and Jacob Boyd cashed in with an old-fashioned three-point play, field goal and free throw, but the Cardinals couldn’t be stopped.

Boyd finished with 18 points to lead a quartet of Bulldogs into double figures. Simmons added 13 points, Harris Cameron kicked in 10 from the low post and Colten Beck also contributed 10 points.

Gallatin took a 12-point lead into the fourth quarter of Thursday night’s semifinal game against rival Hamilton, but had to hold off a late rally to secure a 58-56 win. The Hornets took a brief lead before the Bulldogs regained control of the pace in the final four minutes.

Boyd topped all scorers with 20 points, followed by Cameron with 14 and Simmons with 10.

Joining Boyd on the All-Tournament Team were Hamilton’s Korby Ford, West Platte’s Cody Guthrie and Lawson’s Cody Glenn, Tanner Smith and MVP Mason Cox.

GHS girls lose more than trophy in LIT action

Sara Lin looks to pass down the floor as Hamilton’s Morgan Prather reaches in for a deflection during semifinal play at Lawson last Thursday.

Add Gallatin to the list of area high school girls’ teams who have suffered potential season-altering injuries in the past month.

For the first time since she scored 23 points in her first varsity game in November 2011, Sara Lin wasn’t in the starting lineup for the Lady Bulldogs in Friday night’s third place game at Lawson.

Lin, Gallatin’s three-time all-conference and all-district point guard, suffered a partial tear to her ACL midway through Thursday night’s game against Hamilton. The injury came as she drove down the left side of the lane, stopped abruptly and crumpled to the floor in pain.

The game hung in the balance at the time, with Hamilton maintaining only a three to five point advantage when the injury occurred. Lin was to visit an orthopedic surgeon on Tuesday in order to determine the full extent of her injury.

Lin joins Cameron’s Melia Richardson, Trenton’s McKinley Hurley, Mound City’s Kendey Eaton and South Holt’s Emily Cox, who have already seen their seasons end after ACL tears.

The Lady Bulldogs went with a taller starting lineup against the Lady Cardinals, adding Taylor Sloan to the mix in Lin’s absence. Lawson took a double digit lead inside the first 2 ½ minutes but the Lady Bulldogs took a 13-9 scoring advantage into the break to cut a 19-point spread down to 39-24.

Back to back jumpers by Bailey Maxwell and Kailey Salmon trimmed the LHS lead to 42-32 with 5:01 left to play in the third period but Lawson responded with a 6-0 run and never looked back.

Salmon picked up the scoring slack with a season-high 26 points. Maxwell finished with nine points.

Crisp ball movement and lane penetration powered Hamilton to a 48-34 victory on Thursday. Salmon’s 13 points were high for Gallatin. Morgan Prather and Shelby Kruse combined for 34 points for the Lady Hornets, who went on to upset North Platte in Saturday’s championship game.

Salmon represented Gallatin on the All-Tournament Team, along with North Platte’s Erin Manville, Lawson’s Kerstin Huffman and Bethany Jacobsen, Hamilton’s Shelby Kruse and MVP Morgan Prather.