“It was a great win,” Potter said. “We were there only conference loss all season. We knew they were looking for revenge. We had to lock it down on the defensive end. We’ve had a couple shaky defensive games, but we came back and played really good defense. It was a great team win.”
Greenon junior Clay Minteer had 13 points and junior Braden Ware added 10 as the Knights won their third straight game, improving to 9-6 and 7-4 in the division.
“It’s a big win for us,” said Greenon coach Matt McCurdy. “It started at the defensive end. We did a great job of helping on (Allen and Burtch) who make them go. (Myles Witt) hit a couple early on and Braden adjusted and was able to contain him and keep him out of the 10- to 15-foot range. It was big for us. To hold them to 48 points, you don’t see that a lot.”
Seniors Cole Allen and Rhett Burtch each had 13 points and sophomore Jordan Erisman added 12 as the Rams (13-3, 9-2) saw their 10-game winning streak come to an end.
“(Greenon) is a good team,” said Rams coach Kyle Fulk. “You can’t let their record deceive you. We play in a tough OHC South Division. They controlled the game pretty much from the starting tip, made us chase the whole time. We just couldn’t do enough to close in on them. It’s a great job by them and a great job by Matt.”
The Knights led 29-23 at the half and never trailed in the second half. They went on a 7-0 run to start the third quarter to grab a 36-23 advantage. While Greenon continued to score the basketball, the Rams saw several shots rim out.
“A lot of that was (Greenon’s defense), too,” Fulk said. “We expect our guys to shoot it really well when we’re open, but if we’re not open, it makes it a lot more difficult for those shots to go in. Greenon did a great job executing their game plan.”
The Rams cut the lead to nine points on two free throws by Allen with 4:45 remaining, but wouldn’t get any closer. Greenon led by as many as 16 points in the fourth quarter, hitting 10-of-15 free throws to seal the victory.
Greenon caused 11 turnovers in the game, getting easy baskets in transition.
“We’ve done a good job throughout the entire year of getting out into transition,” McCurdy said. “When the kids defend like they did tonight, they’re pretty athletic, they’re long and they get their hands on some things when they move. It’s something we’ve been working on. Finally, I think we boxed out well tonight, probably better than we have all year. Our kids were focused.”
Potter set the tone for the Knights early in the game, scoring 11 points in the first quarter.
“That’s what seniors do in big games,” McCurdy said. “He does a really good job at getting to the rim. When he doesn’t settle for jump shots, he’s tough to guard.”
The win will give Greenon confidence moving forward, especially as it enters the postseason, Potter said.
“It gives us great confidence,” he said. “We’ve lost some we probably shouldn’t have, but we’re getting into a rhythm. Some games get cancelled and some don’t, so it’s hard to get into a rhythm, but I think this is a big confidence booster for the rest of the season.”
About the Author