01-09-15
BY JACK BULLOCK
GOLCONDA – Coming off of back-to-back losses to Carmi-White County (Eldorado Holiday Tournament, then January 6 at CWC), the Gallatin County Hawks were happy to get back to playing against someone other than the Bulldogs.

Coach Doug Miller and his Hawks wasted little time in getting back to basics and its strengths on Friday night on the road at Pope County.

Behind the scoring of sophomore guard Seth Ramsey and a defensive effort that forced nine first quarter turnovers by the Pirates, Gallatin County pulled away early and coasted home with a 60-36 road Greater Egyptian Conference victory.

Ramsey, a 5-foot-11 guard, hit four 3-pointers in the game, including three in the opening quarter as he and senior teammate Chandler Scates lit up the Pope County squad with five from long range in the opening frame.

Scates finished with 12-point while Tyler Oldham, a 6-foot senior, did his damage inside as he ended up with 10-points.

Scates (2) and Ramsey hit their first three outside tries and when Hank Oldham converted a pair of free throws, Gallatin County led 11-0 with 3:40 left.

“That was our emphasis coming into this game (a good start) not to just go through the motions where you give them (Pope County) a chance to win,” said Coach Miller. “I told them I don't want us to be playing up four or five with four minutes to play in the game. I want to get this done early. We didn't want to give them a chance to beat us. Our kids responded really well.”

The Pirates got no closer the rest of the way and Coach Jim Simmons club couldn't match up with the visitors on this evening.

Pope County, now 3-12 overall, was topped by Jabrayle Lumpkin, a 6-foot-1 senior forward.

He was a bright spot on a night where the Pirates fell behind early and, although playing hard, didn't make much of a dent in their deficit for the rest of the contest.

What offensive damage Pope County accomplished came at the foul line as they converted 15-of-27 free throws as the Hawks committed 25-fouls on the night.

Coach Miller's team, pressing for most of the first 2.5 quarters, picked up some personal fouls but never let that stop them from maintaining their advantage.

Ramsey was the offensive catalyst.

He closed out the first quarter with baseline drive for a conventional three point play while being fouled by Pope County's Doug Ferguson.

Then, with the Hawks holding the ball for a final shot in the first stanza, Ramsey found himself with the ball at the right wing.

He made a nice head fake and got open for a step-back 20-footer that beat the buzzer for a 22-4 lead.

“They came out and hit four 3's in a row and it allowed them to set their press up,” said Coach Simmons. “We have played against a lot of teams who have a lot of talent. That Number 11 (Ramsey) is a pretty darn good point guard. He is a pretty smart kid and they (Gallatin County) have good chemistry and play well together.”

Gallatin County continued its fine play in the second quarter and expanded the lead.

Following free throws (3-of-4) from sophomore guard Hunter Walters and Ramsey, Scates made a steal near mid-court and his fast break lay in forced a Pope County timeout at 27-5 with 5:57 left.

The Pirates finally got a few things going offensively in the second quarter.

Noah Stalions, a 6-foot-1 junior forward, junior Cody Harris and sophomore Dylan Worthen all produced points in the frame.

When Worthen canned a 3-pointer from the right wing with 1:16 left, the Pirates trailed 33-13.

But, as they had accomplished in the first quarter, Coach Miller's club held the ball for a final shot in the quarter and Scates drove down the middle of the lane for a score that also beat the clock for a 22-point spread at halftime.

The Pirates were a respectable 5-of-13 in the first half but with 12-turnovers they trailed in a big way at the break.

These Hawks were much better from the floor (10-of-20) and despite foul issues that forced Coach Miller into using more of his bench, the Hawks never missed a beat offensively.

The second half got off to a shaky start for Gallatin County as they committed four of their 11-turnovers.

However the Pirates didn't do much to take advantage.

Gallatin put the game completely out of reach as Tyler Oldham scored six of his points in the paint in the quarter.

His third bucket by grabbing his own missed shot with 4:25 left made it 43-19 Hawks.

“The kid that I think that is the key to their team is 52 (Tyler Oldham) he is a man inside and our kids were telling me how strong he was inside,” said Coach Simmons. “I think he did a heck of a job for them.”

Junior Brody Watts got in on the enjoyment with a basket from near the foul line and after Pope County got 1-of-2 free throws by Lumpkins with :36.2 remaining, Gallatin County did exactly what they had done the previous two quarters.

Working for a final shot, Ramsey was fouled at the buzzer by Stalions.

Ramsey calmly nailed his two charity tosses with no time showing, sending the two clubs to the fourth quarter at 49-23 Hawks.

Coach Miller went to his bench often in the fourth quarter as Gallatin County cruised to its fourth league triumph this season (4-2) and evened its mark to 7-7.

The only quarter that the Pirates outscored Gallatin was the fourth.

Lumpkin, after scoring just one-point in the first three quarters, added a bucket and 6-of-7 free throws to finish his night strong.

Zack Fasolo, a junior guard, and Harris were tied for second in the scorebook with six-points each.

“Our bench played really well tonight. When our reserves play well, we are a lot better team. When they don't and we stick with five players, we are in trouble,” said Coach Miller. “We play a high-intensity full-court pressing game so we are going to get some fouls. But we have to realize that when the kids get a second foul you don't want to get a third. We are a young team and we are maturing. We have a good sophomore guard (Ramsey) who can control the tempo.”

The final stats for Gallatin County were pretty good, especially their long range shooting.

Coach Miller saw his Hawks go 20-of-48 overall (41.6 percent) and a very good 7-of-14 from the arc.

They out rebounded the hosts 29-23 and committed just 11-miscues, with most of them coming after a rough first few minutes before the bombs started finding the mark.

The Pirates finished 9-of-24 (37.5 percent) and hit just one 3-point shot (1-of-5) in the game.

The Hawks held a 29-22 rebounding edge.

Walters finished with nine points for the Hawks while senior guard Jacob DeVous, junior forward Brody Watts and Hank Oldham all scored.

DeVous came off the bench and nailed a 3-pointer in the final frame for Gallatin County.

The Hawks will head up north to Webber Township for a game Saturday night while Pope County will host Norris City-Omaha-Enfield on Tuesday night January 13.

“I think we are getting better and you have to get better at this time of the year,” said Coach Simmons.