12-11-17
BY JACK BULLOCK
WAYNE CITY - For the first few minutes of their game against Gallatin County on Monday night, Coach Kevin Bowen and his Cisne Lions were thinking upset.

The team did what they wanted to do, which was run clock and milk their first couple of possessions.

The result was a 5-0 lead with nearly two minutes gone off of the first quarter clock.

Unfortunately for this club from northern Wayne County, games are 32 minutes in length.

The other 30 minutes, for the most part, belonged to the Gallatin County Hawks.

Coach Doug Miller's squad quickly got on track with an 11-0 run in the first quarter.

Then the Hawks took flight on a 12-4 second quarter cruise.

A 9-0 sprint to begin the second half was “all she wrote” for Cisne as the Hawks stayed in the championship chase at the 64th annual Conrad Allen Wayne City Holiday Tournament with a commanding 52-26 win.

Improving to 6-2 overall and 2-0 in Pool A Gallatin County flexed its muscles by dominating inside the paint.

Junior Audie Goebel netted 21-points for the Hawks as he scored from the inside out.

The 6-foot forward got inside for points and hit three 3-pointers in the victory.

Sophomore teammate Dawson Hish, also a 6-foot forward/guard, got loose for 11-points which also included a 3-point bomb.

Sophomore Brock Seely also got in on the fun with five-points while junior Garrett Rushing and senior Aaron Walters delivered four-points each.

“Our kids are tired of getting beat up by football playing schools so they have really hit the weights hard. Last spring, last summer, last fall, last Saturday. We are lifting weights and for a GEC school (1A) we are pretty stout,” said Coach Miller. “Our two goals are to be as strong as you can be and as fundamentally sound as you can be.”

Cisne, who fell to 0-6 on the season, didn't place a player in double-figures on this night but they did get eight-points from 6-foot-1 freshman Brendan Potter and seven markers from senior Jordan Hosick.

The Lions opened the game with a pair of nice buckets by sophomore Aden Farleigh and a 3-pointer from Hosick.

But the 11-0 scoring march by Gallatin County turned the tide quickly.

In the run, Goebel scored seven of the points.

Two free throws, a drive to the basket, and a 3-pointer from the top of the circle showed this junior's versatility.

A couple of fast break scores off of Cisne turnovers produced the other buckets; one each from Hish and Walters.

Farleigh stopped the run with an inside basket, but Goebel closed the frame with a bucket from the right wing for a 13-9 lead at the end of the quarter.

Cisne scored on a score from Potter to open the second frame, which narrowed the gap to just 13-11.

That was as close as the Lions got the rest of the contest.

A trifecta by Goebel began the 12-4 sprint that changed everything.

Junior guard Robbie Prince hit his only field goal of the game, a 3-pointer from the top of the arc, while Walters cashed in a couple of free throws as the scoring run continued.

A Goebel score on a nice pass from Rushing closed the half at 25-15.

“We saw what they (Cisne) did to Webber and we didn't want a 15-15 halftime score. Our kids pushed the ball tonight and better in the second half than we did in the first half,” said Coach Miller.

The Hawks held the ball for the final two minutes of the first half but turned the ball over on a charge by Goebel or the scoring difference would have been larger.

The first nine-points in the second half were scored by Gallatin County.

Goebel hit another trey and Rushing grabbed a pair of offensive boards for two second chance buckets.

Another score from Hish expanded the advantage to 34-15 with 4:32 left in the third quarter.

The Lions managed to get a couple of scores in succession, with Potter and Hosick but scoring on drives to the goal.

However the Hawks got a free throw from Goebel and back-to-back baskets by Hish to close the quarter.

Hish drove into the lane for a basket and closed the third stanza with a 3-pointer from the right corner for a 40-19 lead heading to the final frame.

“He (Goebel) is a physical player and he isn't afraid of contact so he got in there and battled tonight. We have some kids that weren't able to step in there and help,” said Coach Bowen. “He just sort of took over.”

Both coaches went to their reserves for most of the final quarter.

“We are like the movie 'Sing.' We are holding auditions for the sixth, seventh and eighth man for us. Our sixth man (Lucas Reeder) is done for the year with a chipped bone in his foot and so I told the kids, auditions every night,” said Coach Miller. “Whomever produces, plays.”

The numbers for the game turned out to mirror the scoreboard as Gallatin County dominated each category.

The Hawks hit half of their attempts, 19-of-38 overall, while collecting 6-of-15 from the arc.

They also held an 18-12 edge in the rebounding war.

Gallatin County's defensive effort forced 16 Lions' turnovers, 10 of which occurred in the second half.

Cisne was just 12-of-30 overall from the floor, 1-of-7 from long range.

The Hawks will face 2-0 Webber Township on Wednesday night with the winner moving into the championship game on Saturday night.

The Trojans improved to 2-0 with a win over North Clay in the final game on Monday.

Cisne will play again on Friday against North Clay.

“We took some quick shots tonight and we can't do that. We have to have the score in the 30's for us to win and when we get outside of that we are going to struggle,” said Coach Bowen.

Coach Jon Brown's club got points from 10 difference players in the victory.

Senior guard Cameron Stephens netted 22-points for Crab Orchard while freshman Quentin Meyers added 13.

Sophomore Hunter Throgmorton tossed in 10-points in the win as the Trojans led 41-16 at halftime.

Stephens canned four of his six 3-pointers in the first quarter as Crab Orchard took early control.

Grayville fell to 0-2 in Pool B with senior Marcus Risley leading the scoring with 18-point for Coach Brian Hucker's club.

WEBBER TOWNSHIP 73, NORTH CLAY 46
The Trojans can earn a spot in the title game on Saturday with a win Wednesday night over Gallatin County after the Trojans took care of the Cardinals on Monday night.

Senior's Charles Neal and Brody Mount provided 25-points each in the win.

Classmate Dylan Stratton added 11-points for Webber, who stand at 2-0 in Pool A and 7-1 overall.

The Trojans broke away from North Clay with a 26-8 second quarter.

North Clay (0-2 in Pool A) got 12-points from junior Aleon Rinehart and 10-points from Quincy Aldrich in defeat.

Coach Josh Zink saw his club fall to 1-3 on the young season.