The Greenville High School Hornets(1-3) notched their first win of the season on the hardwood with an emphatic 77-60 win over cross town rival O’Bannon High School (1-2) Saturday night.
After a nip and tuck first half, the Hornets decisively separated themselves from the home team. Hornets guard Treonte Hall opened the third quarter knocking down three consecutive three pointers to open up some breathing room for Greenville High. The Hornets led 47-38 with 4:14 remaining in the third quarter and maintained a similar margin by finishing the quarter on an 11-7 run to take a 58-35 lead into the final frame.
“They started doubling my big man inside and I was glad to see my guards knocking down shots and getting to the basket in the second half,” said Hornets head coach Delmar Sprouse.”It feels good to get the first win and get the monkey off our backs. We lost a few close games to start the season that we could’ve easily won. This was by far our best offensive effort.”
Palpable energy was evident throughout the arena at the start as each sides’ supporters rocked the gym stomping the bleachers cheering their teams on. Quarter number one didn’t disappoint as the teams ended the frame in a 15-15 deadlock. Players gave all out efforts on both sides diving for loose balls, chasing down offensive players to reject shots and not shying from competition.
“That’s what we’re all about,” said Greenwaves head coach Torriane Carter. “We pledged to go out and play hard and compete when the season started. They got hot to open the second half and really took control of the game and that was the difference tonight.”
After a couple of Jaquann Roberson dunks to fire up the visiting Hornets crowd, Greenwaves guard Octavian Wilson drained a three as time expired to tie the score after one quarter.
Wilson continued his hot shooting going into the second quarter as he went on a 7-0 run himself to give O’Bannon its first lead of the night at 30-29 with 1:12 remaining until the half. However, senior point guard Morgan Green scored four of the Hornets last six points to stake the visitors to a 34-32 lead at the intermission.
