02-01-11
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARRIER MILLS – Feed the post.

A simple basketball phrase that proved to be the difference in the contest Tuesday night between Gallatin County and Carrier Mills.

The Hawks game plan was to get the ball inside to 6-foot-10 sophomore center Andrew Drone as often as possible.

The strategy paid off with Drone getting the ball underneath basket for enough chances to score 25-points to lead Gallatin County to an important 46-41 Greater Egyptian Conference win.

Combined with a stellar defensive stand in the second half and a 9-of-12 shooting performance from the foul line in the fourth quarter Gallatin County picked up a key regional seeding meeting triumph.

The Hawks had struggled in close games this season but closed the deal in the final minutes on Tuesday night.

Five-foot-eleven junior Bryant Aud scored all six of his points from the foul line (6-of-6) in the fourth quarter to help the Hawks improve to 11-8 overall and 3-4 in the GEC.

“I told them coming out of the huddle in the fourth quarter that we had to go to the boards,” said Coach Patton. “We've lost seven games this year by three points or less. We hadn't been hitting free throws but Bryant Aud stepped up and hit six free throws. This was just a good win for us.”

Perhaps more importantly Gallatin County picked up a key pawn in the regional seeding game – which will take place on Wednesday February 2.

Coach Radar Patton's Hawks also got 10-points and 12-rebounds from 6-foot-4 sophomore forward Patrick Lowe.

Forcing Carrier Mills into 16-of-48 shooting in the contest and five fourth quarter turnovers Gallatin County improved its stock heading towards the postseason.

“We missed point blank shots just over and over again tonight. Shots that should have gone in and you can't beat anyone if you can't make those kind of shots,” said Carrier Mills head coach Mark Motsinger. “And we had too many turnovers that weren't forced turnovers. They were just bad passes.”

Carrier Mills was in the contest throughout but didn't produce enough offense late in the game to make a good enough run.

A technical foul in the first few seconds of the fourth quarter on CM's JR Brown was a momentum changing mistake and Gallatin County took full advantage with Aud knocking down two free throws and Drone scored about a minute later to put Gallatin County up 33-31.

Although Carrier Mills managed to get one final lead at 35-34 with 5:02 left and then tied the game twice in the next three minutes – the Hawks were in charge.

Drone scored twice on nice spin moves in the lane with his second score giving Gallatin County back the lead for good.

His bucket from the left block just in front of the basket gave the Hawks a 41-39 lead with 1:50 left.

Carrier Mills would manage just one additional basket from reserve Jordan Walker with :06 remaining.

Meanwhile Gallatin County increased its lead with Aud and Daine Hish combining to hit 5-of-6 free throws in the final :50.

Carrier Mills had chances in that final minute but misfired on three 3-point attempts and committed a pair of turnovers in that time frame.

The Wildcats saw their record slip to 6-4 in the league and 13-9 overall.

While Carrier Mills held a slight rebounding edge (22-21) only seven of those board were on the offensive end of the floor as Gallatin County did a good job of keeping the Wildcats from getting second-chance points.

Carrier Mills looked like they were ready to defend their home turf after taking a halftime lead by using its quickness to pester Gallatin County early.

A steal and fast break score by 6-foot junior CJ Jefferson put the Wildcats up 23-21 at the break.

The Hawks committed four second quarter turnovers to give CM that halftime advantage.

Gabe Morgan – a 6-foot-4 junior forward – led the Wildcats on the night with 13-points and his three-point play gave CM a 27-25 lead with 6:05 left in the third quarter

However Coach Patton's troops regrouped for a solid second half performance.

Lowe got rolling on both ends of the floor dominating the rebounding category.

“Lowe was just crashing the boards like crazy for them tonight and we just weren't able to keep him off the boards,” added Coach Motsinger.

He scored twice early in the third quarter on put back shots. He grabbed seven of his twelve rebounds in the stanza.

“He (Lowe) is a jumping jack out there and he is the best athlete we have by far,” added Coach Patton. “He is a heck of a player, too.”

Drone scored late in the quarter to pull the Hawks to within 31-29 heading into the final quarter.

The fourth quarter belonged to the visitors as the Wildcats couldn't close out the game when they had the chance.

Carrier Mills was just 3-of-11 from the floor in the final frame.

Dillan Harrison followed Morgan as the only other Carrier Mills' player in double-figures with 10-points while Collin Crim added eight.

Gallatin County shot the ball well on the night – hitting 17-of-35 overall with most of those successful shots coming in the paint by Drone.

“In the last four or five games they (Gallatin County) had stopped feeding the post but tonight they did a good job,” Motsinger added.

Although the two teams were just 1-of-19 from beyond the 3-point arc – the Hawks made the most of getting the ball inside.

Both teams will next play at Shawnee Community College next Saturday in the annual SEC-GEC Shootout with their opponents to be determined.

“This was a team-effort tonight and I was very proud of them,” Patton added. “We did get the ball to 'Droneie' tonight and we have been emphasizing that more in the last couple of weeks.”

Gallatin County (46) – Westbrook 0 0 0-0 0, Cox 1 0 0-0 2, Drone 10 0 5-9 , Lowe 5 0 0-0 10, Hish 0 0 1-1 1, Aud 0 0 6-6 6, Ramsey 1 0 0-0 2.
2FG-17, 3FG-0, FT-12-16, PF-14.
Carrier Mills (41) – Brown 0 0 0-0 0, Morgan 5 0 3-7 13, Harrison 1 1 5-6 10, Crim 3 0 2-2 8, Walker 1 0 0-0 2, Taborn 3 0 0-2 6, Slucker 0 0 0-0 0, Barners 0 0 0-0 0, Jefferson 1 0 0-0 2.
2FG-15, 3FG-1, FT-10-17, PF-16.
Fouled Out – None
Technical Fouls – Gallatin County Bench; Brown - Carrier Mills.