Photo: Glencoe High’s Garrett Morgan (2) drives Plainview’s Sawyer Fraley (21) and Luke Smith (14) during the Yellow Jackets’ 83-36 loss in the Northeast Regional Tournament Class 3A boyss semifinals last Monday (Feb. 20) at Jacksonville State. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger)
By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor
Glencoe took its best shot against Plainview last Monday (Feb. 20) at Jacksonville State, but the Bears ultimately possessed too much firepower for the Yellow Jackets to handle.
After weathering a brief Glencoe run midway through the second quarter, Plainview maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way en route to an 83-36 victory in the Northeast Regional Tournament Class 3A boys semifinals.
“Plainview’s a really good team that has a lot of experience, and we knew our margin for error was going to be pretty small,” said Glencoe head coach Ryan Chambless. “I thought we competed really hard and made some plays. But we made some turnovers that [Plainview] turned into points, and you can’t do that against a good team. Having the experience [of playing] here, Plainview wasn’t going to get rattled if things didn’t go their way.”
Trailing 20-8 at the end of the first quarter, the Yellow Jackets (18-13) put together a 13-5 run that cut the deficit to 25-21 with 3:35 left in the first half. Sophomore guard Garrett Morgan knocked down three 3-point baskets during that stretch, which got Glencoe back in the game.
“We’ve been down by 20 points and come back to win,” said Chambless. “We’ve done that all year, and our kids never quit and continue to fight.”
But Plainview (28-6) closed out the first half on a 15-3 run to take a 40-24 advantage into halftime, and the Yellow Jackets never again got close enough to threaten.
Glencoe did score 18 points to Plainview’s 21 in the third quarter, but the Yellow Jackets managed only four points and one field goal over the final eight minutes.
“I thought it got away from us at the end of the first half when they made that run and made another good run in the middle of the third,” said Chambless. “We didn’t score a whole lot at the end, and we knew we couldn’t do that if we we’re going to have a chance to win.”
Garrett Morgan paced Glencoe with 19 points, followed by Aiden Cornutt with 13 and Andrew Greene with eight. Morgan grabbed six rebounds, while Greene cleared five.
Four players scored in double figures for Plainview: Luke Smith with 20, Jonah Williams with 18, Landon White with 15 and Dylan Haymon with 14.
”I thought we played really hard, and I’m extremely proud of our team, not just for today but all season,” said Chambless. “I can’t complain at all about effort and attitude this season, because both have been great. These guys were able to achieve a lot. Our main three goals were to win county and area and make it to JSU, and we achieved all three. I hope they realize how fortunate they were to make to the Sweet 16.”