Ballard Bombers end Rams basketball season

By SUE RIEDER
sports@beeherald.com

The Rams ended their 2013-2014 basketball season when they were defeated by a good Ballard ball club 82-63. Defense and rebounding were a problem for the Rams as Ballard was adept at driving to the basket, and Greene County has had difficulty defending that type of offense all year. The Bombers were also hot early in the game from outside the arc. Their success from the outside and their dominance in the paint helped them build a 26-16 lead at the end of the first period. The Bombers got to the free throw line 14 times in the second quarter and drained 13 of their attempts. The Rams were successful on 6 of 7 free throws that period, but could only get three field goals to drop and trailed by 16 by half time.

The Bombers did a good job of limiting Greene County’s offensive rebounds, so the Rams rarely had the opportunity to try follow-up shots if their first attempts failed. Overall, Ballard out rebounded Greene County 38-25. Both teams shot well from the charity stripe, but the Bombers got to the line more often. Ballard made 24 of their 30 attemtpts, and the Rams converted 11 of 15.

Freshman Trey Tucker aptly manned the point guard position and led the team in scoring with 24 points. Tucker ended regular season play ranked ninth in Class 2A scoring with a 19.5 average per game. His double digit points against Ballard raised his season scoring total to 434 points, a notable accomplishment for any high school player, especially a freshman. Sophomore Reid Lamoureux chipped in 11 points which is a career high for him in a varsity game. Riah Nelsen and Sico Boateng were Greene County’s leading rebounders with five and four respectively.

“Ballard played well together, and we couldn’t get enough stops,” said coach Jeramie Hinote. “Our lack of size was a factor, but you can’t let teams drive right to the basket. I’m sure the team would have liked to have gotten a few more wins this year. They were very young, but fun to coach. I am very proud of the effort that they gave all year. The boys like playing basketball and want to work to get better.”

The Rams finished the season with a 6-16 record. The majority of the team will no doubt spend time in the off-season honing their skills for next year, and growing a few more inches in height wouldn’t hurt either.

Gr. Co.   16   30   48   63
Ballard   26   46   69   82
Greene County (63) Scoring leaders- Trey Tucker 8 6-8 24, Reid Lamoureux 4 1-1 11, Landon Braun 3 0-0 8, Mitchell Gorsuch 3 0-0 8. Rebound leaders- Riah Nelsen 5, Sico Boateng 4. Assist leader- Tucker 6. 3-point goals- Braun 2, Tucker 2, Lamoureux 2, Gorsuch 2, Tyler Beger 1, Max Neese 1.
Ballard (82) Scoring leaders- Mason Jensen 6 7-7 21, Nick Hartman 5 5-6 16, Kolby Jensen 4 5-7 15, Mason Edwards 3 3-5 9. 3-point goals- M. Jensen 2,  K. Jensen 2, Jacob Nethers 1, Hartman 1, Nathan Carlin 1.