A resurgent Gilman City boys squad won its third straight Thursday at Mormon Trail, dropping the Saints 50-44 behind 32 points from Camden Griffith despite being faceguarded most of the game.
The teams were evenly matched, with similar records, but at first it looked like Hawks all the way. Camden Griffith went coast to coast and converted a three-point pay and then added a 3-pointer after a pass from Bo Eads. Jace Estrada scored from inside after a pass from Eads, and Alex Young hit Mason Preston on the baseline. Camden Griffith added a free throw to make it 11-0 with 2:21 left in the first.
But then Mormon Trail, behind 6’6” Lane Flesher and sharpshooters Noah Arnold and Levi Evans, all of whom average 11.9 or more a game, started storming back as Arnold and Evans both hit from the high post and Flesher added a putback to make it 11-6 after one.
Griffith scored from inside after Mason Preston set him up with a drive, but Mormon Trail kept hanging around as Evans got a putback and Flesher scored from inside. But Camden Griffith beat the box-and-one, scoring inside twice, and Bo Eads went backdoor as Gilman City regained some separation at 19-10.
Whiton Gwinn broke the run with a drive, but Alex Young got loose in transition and Griffith took on four defenders and finished to make it 23-12. Mormon Trail whittled away at the lead and got to within as close as eight, but Griffith knocked down a shot at the halftime buzzer to make it 29-19.
For the first part of the third quarter, the Hawks maintained their lead, but after Mason Preston, their best ballhandler, got in foul trouble, the Saints made a push as the rest of their supporting cast got some baskets. Joey Smith scored off a drive, Gwinn hit a free throw after a steal, and Noah Arnold hit a tough shot from the high post with a hand in his face to make it 35-30 at the 1:51 mark.
But with a defender draped all over him, Griffth willed the Hawks back in front, knocking down a 3-pointer and going coast to coast to make it 40-30 after three. He added a baseline shot to make it 42-30 to start the fourth.
But then Mormon Trail started taking advantage of Preston’s absence, finally getting Flescher going as they cut it in half at 42-36. But Preston came back to stop and bleeding and with three seconds on the shot clock, Griffith hit a baseline shot with a hand in his face with 2:36 left to make it 44-36.
Preston cut inside and scored to make it 46-37, but then the Hawks nearly melted down as Arnold answered with a 3-pointer to make it 46-40 with 1:34 left. Consecutive steals by Evans cut the Hawk lead to 46-44 with 49 seconds left.
But then Gilman City got into the bonus as Mormon Trail had to foul, and Mason Preston hit two free throws to give the Hawks some badly needed breathing room at 48-44. Levi Evans finally missed one, but the ball went out of bounds off Gilman City. But Camden Griffith stole the ball back and drew a foul, hitting both free throws with 11 seconds left to make it 50-44. Evans missed a 3-pointer and Jace Estrada secured the board to clinch the win.
Camden Griffith had 32 points. Mason Preston had 6, Jace Estrada and Alex Young had 4, and Bo Eads and Dakota Meringa had 2.
Mason Preston had 1 block.
Camden Griffith went beast mode on the boards, grabbing 16. Jace Estrada had 9, Mason Preston 2, and Bo Eads, Alex Young, and Dakota Meringa had 1.
Mason Preston had 6 assists. Jace Estrada and Dakota Meringa had 3, Bo Eads and Alex Young 2, and Camden Griffith 1.
Camden Griffith had 4 tips and Alex Young 2.
Camden Griffith had 4 steals. Alex Young had 3 and Jace Estrada and Dakota Meringa had 2.
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