MONTCALM – Greenbrier West suffered through a brutal first quarter Wednesday night, leading the Cavaliers to their second defeat in as many nights. West turned the ball over eleven times in the opening quarter and only put up four shots. Kamden Sams hit the lone Cavalier basket while Montcalm ran rampant, opening the game with a 22-2 first quarter that saw five Generals get in the scoring column. Scoring wasn’t the only hurdle for Greenbrier West as foul trouble mounted early.
Montcalm basically returned the favor in the second quarter, going cold from the floor and knocking down only two field goals. Greenbrier West’s offense wasn’t much better, but Colton Dunbar did provide some scoring with four points. Dunbar also did good work on the boards, pulling down seven rebounds in the first quarter and 10 in the first half. Carter Vandall added a three-pointer and a free throw for four points, with Ben McDaniel adding the Cavaliers’ other bucket. Despite doubling up Montcalm 10-5 in the second quarter, Greenbrier West trailed 27-12 at the halftime. 15 turnovers first-half turnovers were the glaring statistic for the Cavaliers.
Action picked up for both teams in the third quarter. The Cavaliers chipped away at Montcalm’s lead behind six points from sophomore Isaac Crane. Dunbar added three points but a questionable fourth foul relegated the junior forward to the bench for much of the quarter. West got scoring contributions from Kamden Sams, Shane Plogger, Dakota McKinney, Vandall, and McDaniel. Montcalm countered with a seven-point quarter from senior guard Tristen Cline and five points off the bench from Korbin Nunn. Isaac Moore added two field goals, but West trimmed the lead to ten points before ending the quarter down 47-36.
The Greenbrier West rally stalled in the fourth quarter, however, as missed shots and turnovers began to catch up. The Cavaliers could only muster a three-pointer from Plogger and a short-range Walkup jumper. Meanwhile, the Generals got four points each from Cline, Nunn, and Donovan Reed to win going away.
Sams led West scorers with eight points. Dunbar added seven points, Isaac Crane six, Plogger five, Vandall five, McDaniel four, McKinney two, and Walkup two. Montcalm’s Tristen Cline led all scorers with 17 points. Reed added 11 points, Moore 10, Tyler Hagerman and Nunn scored nine apiece, Landin Clower five, and Dylan Thomason two.
The 63-41 loss was Greenbrier West’s first-ever to Montcalm. The Cavaliers held a 15-0 series lead over the Generals prior to last night’s contest. The Cavaliers are now 1-2 and host James Monroe Friday night at 7:30. Montcalm, 2-1, travels to West Virginia State on Friday to face Sherman at noon.
