01/23/2023
BY JACK BULLOCK
HARRISBURG - The Gallatin County Hawks took advantage of their size in their matchup Monday night at the 73rd annual Greater Egyptian Conference Tournament.

The Hawks, behind a strong showing on the boards and the scoring of 6-4 junior Noah Richardson, moved into the semifinals of the annual event with a 56-44 win over Galatia.

Richardson poured in 25 points, mostly in the paint, as Gallatin County improved to 8-12 on the season with the win.

After having lost to the Bearcats 67-58 back on November 28th, the Hawks turned the tables on their rivals by shooting the ball better and out-rebounding the Bearcats 27-15 in the victory.

Six-seven senior Rylie Rushing added 12 points for the Hawks as they got the ball inside when they needed to in the win.

Senior guard Kiran Fillingim netted nine points and sophomore Grant Jackson added eight for the Hawks who will now face top-seed Crab Orchard in the semifinals on Friday night.

“Our keys tonight were intensity and effort, control the boards and value the possessions. Grant Jackson was huge on the boards for us tonight and we were controlling the little things that most people don't pay attention to or care about,” said Coach Utterback. “For the first part of the year we spent most of our games trying to fight ourselves out of a hole. The last three games we've come out ready to play.”

Galatia saw their mark slip to 5-15 with their ninth consecutive loss.

Three Bearcats, sophomore Connor Ammon (13), sophomore Cameron Miller (11) and senior Andre Williams (10) scored double figures for the Bearcats.

The Hawks got the lead near the end of the first quarter with Richardson scoring on a three-point play as part of a 7-2 run and he later added a basket inside on an assist from Rushing for a 20-14 lead at the end of the quarter.

Gallatin County got its first double-digit advantage in the second quarter after making the first three field goal attempts to begin the frame.

A 3-pointer from Rushing and a pair of scores in the lane by Richardson made it 29-19 with 2:44 left in the half.

Galatia shot a lot of 3-pointers in the game and Miller hit one of them in the second quarter.

Sophomore Eli Hankins, who scored seven points in the game, hit on a drive to the basket which was followed by a pair of free throws by Williams to cut the Gallatin County lead to 29-23.

However Richardson closed out the half with a jumper from near the foul line for an eight point halftime lead.

The Bearcats managed to stay close early in the third quarter before Gallatin County finished with a late run.

Another 3-pointer by Miller, his third of the contest, and a score in the lane by Williams on an assist from junior Trey Thatcher, cut the Hawks' lead to just 35-30 at the 4:42 mark.

The rest of the quarter belonged to Coach Craig Utterback and his club.

A 9-0 run, started by Fillingim off an assist from junior Collin Monroe, closed the quarter.

Rushing scored twice in the run and Richardson got his second rebound basket of the stanza.

A drive into the lane by Rushing for a score sent the teams to the fourth quarter at 46-32 Hawks.

The 9-0 run became 13-0 after a pair of buckets by Richardson on a rebound and a fast break lay in for a 50-32 spread.

Galatia would get no closer than 13 the rest of the way as the Hawks took care of business by hitting 4-of-6 free throws late and forcing the Bearcats into just 4-of-13 shooting in the final eight minutes.

Gallatin County was exceptional from the field, hitting 22-of-40 overall, with most of the success coming inside.

Although they turned the ball five times in the fourth quarter (11 overall) the defense bailed them out late as they will now face the 20-2 Trojans, a team that they narrowly lost to 58-54 at home back on December 6th.

Galatia ended up just 18-of-49, 6-of-21 from the 3-point line with nine turnovers.

The Bearcats will play Thompsonville on Thursday night in the consolation bracket semifinals.

“The kids have worked hard and the goal is to get on the right side of the bracket tonight and we did that,” said Coach Utterback. “We want to do something special here. To move on you have to take care of the game that is right in front of you.”

Thompsonville (27) – H. Lindhorst 2 1 0-1 7, Shelby 3 0 0-0 6, Clem 1 0 0-0 2, S. Lindhorst 0 0 0-0 0, Reagan 1 0 2-2 4, Sandy 0 0 0-0 0, Parrish 0 0 0-0 0, Wilson 0 0 0-0 0, Herron 0 0 0-0 0, Mullins 2 0 0-0 4, Pond 0 0 0-0 0, Peebels 0 0 0-0 0, Summers 2 0 0-0 4, Smith 0 0 0-0 0, Isaacs 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-11, 3FG-1 FT-2-4, PF-6.
Crab Orchard (92) – Rooker 3 2 0-0 12, Clark 0 3 0-0 9, Robbins 2 0 0-0 4, Throgmorton 5 2 0-0 16, Norris 5 1 2-4 15, Richardson 1 0 2-2 4, Morrow 0 2 0-0 6, Travelstead 4 0 0-0 8, Watts 1 0 0-0 2, Stover 2 0 0-0 4, Anderson 0 0 0-0 0, Dawes 0 0 0-0 0, Simmons 3 0 0-0 6, Brotherton 1 1 0-0 5, Bell 0 0 1-3 1.
2FG-27, 3FG-11, FT-5-9, PF-6.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – None.