CHARCMO – Heading into Tuesday night’s clash with Montcalm, Greenbrier West head coach Jared Robertson worked on all the things that went wrong in the team’s first encounter back in December. Early in the game, Robertson felt like his troops were carrying out the battle plan. In fact, the Cavaliers executed the plan almost flawlessly until just before halftime. The only thing Robertson could’ve asked for were more made shots from his cold-shooting squad. Things never did seem to heat up, however, and Montcalm took advantage of a couple unforced errors to build a modest 18-14 lead. After a first half that saw four ties and three lead changes, Greenbrier West never recovered from that deficit on their way to a 51-39 loss.
Baskets were at a premium for both teams in the first quarter. West managed a swooping layup from Asher Barclay, a rugged rebound and putback from Randy Keener, and a Carter Vandall three pointer. Vandall would fire away two more three-pointers that rimmed out, but he wasn’t the only Cavalier finding the sledding rough from behind the arc. Kamden Sams got four good looks from the corner but never could convert. Shane Plogger tried his hand but his three attempts suffered the same fate. Greenbrier West shot a chilly 3-16 from the floor including 1-9 from three.
Montcalm was no better. Senior guard Tristen Cline scored a basket but was only 1-4. Sophomore forward Donovan Reed was also 1-4 and added an 0-2 trip to the foul line. Isaac Moore connected on a three, but the Generals went 3-11 from the floor, 1-3 from three, and a pair of missed free throws. Fittingly, the game was tied 7-7 at the end of the first quarter.
Shooting didn’t exactly set the nets on fire in the second quarter. Sams found his range and knocked down a pair of jumpers. Vandall added a basket, and the remaining Cavalier point came from a Plogger free throw. West followed up their first quarter shooting with a 3-11 performance in the second quarter. Montcalm’s shooting was mildly better, with the Generals hitting 4-16 shots from the floor. Cline attempted and missed two three pointers and Montcalm scratched up 3-4 foul shooting.
The two teams were locked up at 14 apiece when the Generals took advantage of a couple of Cavalier mistakes to go into the break with an 18-14 lead. The four-point deficit felt much steeper.
Turnovers plagued the Cavaliers in the third quarter as Montcalm began to distance themselves from their hosts. While West shooting improved modestly, Montcalm’s improved a little better. The Cavaliers went 5-12 with five different players tallying a score. Sams found his range on a three pointer while Plogger, Vandall, Isaac Crane, and Ben McDaniel each added a bucket. Randy Keener battled Reed inside and when given the opportunity, stepped to the line to add to his team leading 75% free throw percentage. Keener went 4-4 from the line but West’s 16-point quarter would only see them fall further behind.
The Generals shooting was much more efficient and costly. Montcalm hit on 9-17 shots with Cline going for seven points. Landin Clower was left alone on a couple of rotations and missed a pair of threes before finding his range and connecting on two triples. Sophomore Tyler Hagerman added a three as
Montcalm went 3-6 from behind the line and built themselves a 41-30 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Greenbrier West’s rally attempt was led by Vandall, but it would be too little, too late for the Cavaliers. Vandall poured in six points, but West would only get one more field goal in the quarter, a jumper from Aiden Crane. In the meantime. The Generals were getting threes from Clower and junior Korbin Nunn. Cline supplied the remainder of the scoring for Montcalm with four points as the Generals secured a 51-39 victory.
Vandall led the Cavaliers in scoring for the third time in the last five games with 13 points. Cline led all scorers with 15 points while Reed added 12 for the victors.
Greenbrier West (5-8) heads to Class AA #5 James Monroe Friday night. Montcalm’s (10-4) next scheduled contest is Tuesday, February 11 at Mt. View.
M – 7 11 23 10 – 51
GW – 7 7 16 9 – 39
Scoring – (M) Cline 15, Reed 12, Clower 9, Nunn 7, Hagerman 5, Moore 3
(GW) Vandall 13, Sams 7, Keener 6, A. Crane 3, Barclay 3, Plogger 3, I. Crane 2, McDaniel 2
