East Buchanan’s boys set a torrid pace in the first half on their way to a 69-53 win over Gallatin in Saturday night’s segment of the NCMC Holiday Hoops.
This website brought to you in part by the following sponsor:
With a decided height advantage all over the floor, East Buchanan swept to a 25-12 lead after the first quarter and padded that advantage to 46-28 at the break.
Jett Simmons led Gallatin, now 5-6, with 22 points. Colin Beck added 14.
Ethan Kilgore tossed in 32 points to lead East Buchanan.
Gallatin’s boys sprinted to a 14-0 lead but had to hold off a serious challenge from Green City before claiming a 61-53 victory last Wednesday night at the Ketcham Center.
The Bulldogs came out firing from the field but it was free throw shooting that put a lock on the game in the fourth quarter. Gallatin led by a single point, 38-37, heading into the final eight minutes of play, but the Bulldogs turned their attention to the foul line and nailed 13-of-16 attempts in the fourth quarter to turn back the Gophers.
Green City got on the scoreboard less than a minute into the second quarter then used rough play to score 19 of the next 25 points to take a 21-20 lead just before the half time break. Gallatin reclaimed to start the second half on buckets by Jett Simmons and Gabe Cole. The Bulldogs’ biggest advantage in the third period came after a Tristen Gibson trey that gave his team a 38-32 cushion with just over two minutes to play.
The Gophers tied the game at 49-49 late in the fourth quarter but the Bulldogs never looked back after two-shot free throws from Cole, Colin Beck and Gibson. Gallatin closed the game on a 10-2 run, capped by a last-second field goal by Logan Burns.
Cole and Beck finished with 15 and 13 points, respectively. Gibson chipped in nine points. Simmons contributed eight points and seven rebounds.
Gallatin returns to GRC play at home on Jan. 5 against Polo. The Bulldogs are the #7 seed in the upcoming Lawson Tournament. They will face rival and #2 seeded Hamilton at 8:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 9.