Defensive rebounds key 49-34 Bulldog victory over King City

King City’s Wildkats found out Tuesday night that it’s no fun shooting the ball once and quickly running back down to the other end of the floor in order to play defense.

Gallatin’s boys controlled the tempo of the game by controlling the boards and that led to a relatively easy 49-34 win on Senior Night. The Bulldogs dominated the rim, limiting the Kats to one-shot possessions and pulling down 34 defensive rebounds, 14 more than King City managed on both ends of the court.

The Wildkats trailed, 26-15, early in the third quarter before getting a second look after a missed shot. It was the 16th time down the floor for King City without a second opportunity off a missed shot.

With Gabe Cole’s two-pointer in the final seconds of the third period, Gallatin doubled up the opposition on the scoreboard, 38-19.

It was a balanced night for the Bulldogs, on the scoreboard and on the backboards. Cole led the way with 11 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Morgan Corwin added 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds, all on the defensive end. Colin Beck scored nine for the Bulldogs, to go along with six rebounds. Jett Simmons registered seven points and eight rebounds for Gallatin, which improved to 9-13 on the season.

Loss to Worth County

Worth County downed Gallatin last Friday night, 78-60, for the most part because the Tigers hit more shots. The Tigers shot 54% overall and that included 10-of-18 from the three-point arc. Worth County led by as many as 29 points late in the third quarter before the Bulldogs finished with a 24-13 advantage.

Simmons tied Worth County’s Drake Kinsella for game-high honors with 23 points.

Also on Friday, Trenton defeated Stanberry, 52-49, to win the Grand River Conference title outright. Stanberry’s only other loss came in GRC West Division play against Worth County.