Crouse pours in 29 as West Greene stuns Gators, 64-58
West Greene roared out to a 20-point halftime lead and held off a late rally by visiting Geibel Catholic to stun the previously unbeaten Gators, 64-58, in Section 2-A boys basketball action Tuesday night.
“That was a huge win for us,” Pioneers coach Jim Romanus said. “I’m really proud of thier effort.”
Austin Crouse made six 3-pointers and sank seven free throws in the fourth period on his way to a game-high 29 points for the Pioneers (1-1, 1-4).
“Austin played the best game of his career,” Romanus said. “I’m happy for him because he works so hard at it.”
Chase Blake hit three 3-pointers in scoring 11 points for West Greene and Benjamin Jackson recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Greg Staggers contributed five points and 10 boards.
Enzo Fetsko and Cole Kendall tallied 23 and 20 points, respectively, to lead the Gators (1-1, 4-1). Kendall hit five 3-pointers and Fetsko sank three treys.
The Pioneers stifled Geibel’s offense in the first half and led 13-6 after one period and 33-13 at intermission.
“We played about as well as we could play in the first half,” Romanus said. “We blocked out real well and they had a lot of one-and-done possessions.”
The Gators out-scored West Greene 20-7 in the third to pull within 40-33, and eventually whittled the margin down to three with two minutes left. Blake responded with his final 3-pointer of the night to put the lead at six and the Pioneers hung on from there.
Crouse sank seven free throws in the fourth quarter.
“Geibel’s got a good team, good players,” Romanus said. “They got hot in the second half. It became a shootout in the fourth quarter but our kids responded.”