The Gallatin Bulldogs are 2020-21 champions of the Grand River Conference. Picture, left to right, front row; Brett Hemry, Peyton Johnson, Boston Bell, Johnny Stout, Durk Stout and Colt Baker; back row: Head Coach Chad Sullenger, Garrett Dungy, Brinley Vandiver, Payton Feiden, Isaac Bird, Layton Shubert, William Johnson, and Assistant Coach Harris Cameron.
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Gallatin’s revenge for an earlier loss to North Andrew came all that much sweeter Saturday afternoon as the Bulldogs took down the Cardinals, 59-51, to claim their first GRC basketball title in the split-division era and first overall since 2005-06.
Gallatin held the upper hand early but North Andrew, champion of the GRC West Division battled with leading scorer Tanner McDaniel on the bench in foul trouble for much of the contest.
Layton Shubert set the stage for Gallatin’s come from behind victory when he nailed back-to-back three-pointers, the second of which put the Bulldogs in the lead, 46-45, with 5:07 left to play.
The Bulldogs called a time out with 1:04 on the clock and a 50-49 lead before coming back onto the court to shoot a 2-shot technical foul awarded to the Cardinal bench. Isaac Bird hit both shots to start a cascade of Bulldog free throw attempts in the final seconds.
Johnny Stout went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe in the closing moments. Bird added 2 more free throws and Brinley Vandiver closed out scoring with 2 foul shots with 9 ticks on the clock.
The first half was one of ebbs and flows. Gallatin sprinted to a 19-7 lead on the strength of Cardinal miscues. North Andrew pulled to within 21-19 with a 12-2 run by the middle of the second quarter. Hayden Ecker notched 3 treys, including an off-balance bomb at the buzzer to give North Andrew a 32-27 half time lead.
After Gallatin narrowed the gap to 38-37 in the third quarter, North Andrew surged ahead, 43-38, before Shubert’s heroics off the bench. Payton Feiden fouled out with 3:30 left but turned in stellar work both offensively and defensively against 6’9″ Cardinal center Owen Graham.
As a team, the Bulldogs converted 15 of 18 shots at the foul line. Bird was a perfect 7-for-7 and Stout hit all 6 of his attempts.