CLASSIC DAY 3: Defending champion Greencastle notches 1st win of 2021 tourney
Dec. 29—Most basketball players, coaches and fans would agree that when you don't hit your first 3-point goal until your 20th attempt, you don't deserve to win the game.
That was the case for Marshall (Ill.) on Wednesday in the consolation bracket of the First Financial Wabash Valley Classic at Terre Haute South High School. Not only did the Lions go 1 for 21 from trey land, they also went 10 for 50 on all field-goal tries in losing to Greencastle 50-27.
Greencastle, the 2020 Classic champion, didn't bring as strong of a team from Putnam County to Terre Haute this year and lost to Cloverdale on Monday and Robinson (Ill.) on Tuesday. So Wednesday gave these Tiger Cubs a positive experience to remember from the 2021 tournament.
Cole Hutcheson and Keifer Wilson paced them with 17 and 16 points respectively and with nine and eight rebounds respectively.
The contest could not have started much worse for Marshall, which missed its first 11 shots from the field in falling behind 13-0. Wilson scored six points during that Greencastle outburst.
A 16-foot, buzzer-beating jumper by Wilson closed the first quarter with the Tiger Cubs on top 18-5.
Marshall opened the second period with two free throws and a steal/layup combination from Rielly Wallace to pull within 18-9. About two minutes later, Marshall's Nick Brown sank a short jumper to make the score 20-11.
But that was the last time the Lions would see a single-digit deficit.
Hutcheson tallied six of his points in that frame to help Greencastle trot into the locker room with a 28-13 halftime advantage.
As if things weren't going badly enough for the Lions, they trudged through their lowest-scoring quarter — the third — with four points and saw their disadvantage balloon to 39-17.
Substitutes played plenty for both teams in the final eight minutes. Junior Brandon Healey, who didn't enter until the fourth period, connected on Marshall's first and only 3-pointer with 43 seconds left in the contest.
The Lions' top scorers were a trio of players with six points each — Nathan Swan, Wallace and Brown. Swan also distinguished himself by coming up with six steals and blocking one shot.
