Galesburg High School's boys basketball team runs out of gas against Moline
GALESBURG — On Friday night against Moline, the Galesburg High School boys basketball team showed it is not afraid to claw and fight when backed into a corner.
But the Silver Streaks ran out of time against the Maroons, and they suffered a 77-59 loss at John Thiel Gym.
With 6:18 left in the first quarter, junior Brock Harding — who finished with a game-high 26 points — scored for Moline. Shortly after that, he sank a 3-pointer to give the Maroons a 5-0 lead. Moline wouldn’t relinquish the advantage against Galesburg.
The Maroons (4-0, 1-0) were ahead 17-13 after the first quarter and held a 49-27 lead at the half over the Streaks (3-1, 0-1).
Galesburg made things interesting in the third. Senior point guard Jeremiah Babers hit a 3-pointer with 7:45 left in the quarter, and it ignited a 15-0 run by the Streaks.
With 2:38 left in the third, Harding made the second of a pair of free throws, and the Maroons clung to a 50-42 advantage.
Heading into the fourth quarter, Moline was ahead of Galesburg 55-45. The Maroons outscored the Streaks 22-14 in the final stanza to secure the victory.
“I thought we showed a lot of composure by not panicking,” Moline coach Sean Taylor said. “It went from a 22 point lead to 10 and I thought we could have panicked but we hung right in there and made some huge plays to get it back to 15 plus.
“We knew at halftime that they were going to make a run,” he added. “They’re senior dominated, big, strong and physical.”
Senior Kyle Taylor chipped in 21 points for the Maroons. Senior Rob Pulliam didn’t step onto the hardwood in the second half after leaving the game in the second quarter with an apparent left ankle injury, and he added 10 points for Moline.
Senior Koen Derry led Galesburg with 15 points. Babers and senior Dre Egipciaco had 13 points each for the Streaks.
Matthew Wheaton can be reached at (309) 315-6073 or at mwheaton@register-mail.com. Follow him on Twitter @matthewlwheaton
This article originally appeared on Galesburg Register-Mail: Despite valiant effort, Streaks boys open WB6 with loss to Maroons
