01-16-14
BY JACK BULLOCK
CRAB ORCHARD – In a contest with nine lead changes and not much margin for error, Crab Orchard head coach Jon Brown turned to his senior leader for help to get his club an important Greater Egyptian Conference win.

His 5-foot-10 veteran leader Caleb Perry didn’t disappoint.

Having scored just four points in the first half, Perry put his club on his back on both ends of the floor after intermission.

He scored 12-points in the fourth quarter and hit 10-of-11 free throws in the game in the 60-52 Trojans’ win Thursday night in a make up game that was postponed due to bad weather on December 10th.

Perry ended up leading all scorers with 22-points as Coach Brown’s club improved to 13-3 overall and 4-0 in the GEC.

The Trojans took sole possession of first place in the conference as Perry’s teammates freshman McKager Ferrell (15) and junior Gunner Galloway (14) added points.

But two of the most important baskets of the game occurred in the early stages of the final quarter as senior guard Tyler Deaton hit his only two shots of the contest.

This 5-foot-10 senior nailed a pair of 3-pointers from deep in the right corner on back-to-back possessions.

When his second trey found the mark, Crab Orchard led 41-37 with 6:09 to go.

“I challenged Perry to step his game up and in the fourth quarter he did. On the defensive end he came up big and on offense he does so many things for us,” said Coach Brown. “He gets to the basket and creates things for us. He set up Deaton for two huge 3’s in the fourth quarter.”

Both of those shots came as a result of assists by Perry on drives to the basket and then finding the open shooter.

Then Perry took the game into his own hands, scoring the squads’ next nine points.

By the time he converted a conventional three-point play and then hit a pair of free throws at the 3:49 mark, the Trojans had the games’ biggest lead at that point at 50-43.

The Hawks made one last rally but it fell just short.

Five-foot-ten freshman Seth Ramsey led Gallatin County with 14-points and he scored five consecutive points on a 3-pointer and pair of free throws to close the gap to 50-48.

Conversely that was the extent of the comeback as the hosts pulled away by delivering the goods from the foul line and getting yet another 3-point shot from an unlikely source.

Senior guard Josh Emery found himself wide open in the left corner and calmly nailed his only shot from the field on this night.

When his bomb found the mark, Crab Orchard led 53-48.

“Emery knocked down that shot when they (Gallatin County) had the momentum,” Coach Brown explained. “They had got it down to two and he hits this big shot.”

The Trojans hit 7-of-8 charities in the final 1:16 to close out the victory.

“It was hard-fought and it was anyone’s game heading into the fourth quarter,” said Coach Brown. “Even when we got some separation they (Gallatin County) came storming back again.”

Coach Robert “Radar” Patton saw his club have chances in the fourth quarter but the Hawks couldn’t get enough shots to fall to get the win.

Gallatin County was just 5-of-16 in the final eight minutes and finished the night 18-of-49 (36.7 percent).

They were just 4-of-16 from beyond the arc.

Coming up empty in the end, the Hawks saw their mark slip to 4-1 in the league and 12-4 overall.

Gallatin County can also turn to other missed opportunities, as the Hawks weren’t very good from the foul line as they connected on just 14-of-25 in the game.

The omen from the foul line appeared in the first quarter.

The Hawks got Crab Orchard in some foul trouble as the game began but couldn’t make the hosts pay.

Gallatin County led 15-10 at the first horn but they missed six free throws in the frame, keeping them from what could have been a double-digit advantage.

Senior Marcus Wargel scored 10-points on the night for the Hawks with six of the points coming in the first eight minutes.

His conversion of a fast break in the final seconds gave Gallatin County a five-point lead at the end of one.

More missed chances for Gallatin County took place in the second quarter as they had additional opportunities go by the way side.

Missing seven more shots and turning the ball over five times, the Hawks still managed a 25-21 halftime edge.

Two seniors; Zach McGuire and Austin Russell, scored eight points each and both hit big 3-point shots in the second quarter.

Crab Orchard and Gallatin County played a third quarter that featured seven lead changes.

Ferrell scored six of his points in the stanza and his back door lay in gave the Trojans a 33-32 lead with 1:40 left.

“Ferrell has improved so much as a freshman and he’s isn’t as good as he will be. He does a lot of good things for us,” added Coach Brown. “We tried to get the inside-out game going tonight. Tonight I thought Gallatin County played well but we were just a little bit better at the end.”

Again, this was a quarter in which the visitors had chances but they committed another six turnovers.

When the fourth quarter began, Perry and Company took control for the victory.

Crab Orchard hit 16-of-17 free throws in the game and was 20-of-52 (38.4 percent) from the field.

In a game that was nearly dead even statistically, the foul line proved to be the difference.

Both teams finished with 13-turnovers while Gallatin County held a slight 31-30 rebounding advantage.

Crab Orchard heads out on the road Friday night to play Galatia while Gallatin County hosts Norris City-Omaha-Enfield next Tuesday night.

The Trojans and the Hawks could end up meeting two more times, in the GEC Tournament and also at the Hardin County 1A Regional.

“We played a lot better in the fourth quarter than we did in the first,” finalized Coach Brown. “I think we were a bit tentative early but they responded to the challenge in the fourth quarter.”