Bears beat Tigers in OFC battle

GREENVILLE — Two Ozark Foothills Conference foes met Tuesday night with their own positive narratives they hoped to continue playing out.

The host Greenville Bears, coming off a program defining win over top-ranked South Iron over the weekend, was back home searching to ride that momentum further in search of an eventual first district title next month.

Neelyville entered the fracas with plenty of confidence as a young roster was riding a way of improvement heading into what promised to be a slugfest.

In the end, it was checkmate for Greenville in a 77-51 win as theBears used a relentless post game attack balanced by solid complimentary perimeter offense and a wickedly emphatic defense to pull away from a feisty and determined Tigers squad.

Easton Evans led Greenville with 29 points, Trey Porter added 11 and Carter Irions contributed nine.

“I kind of thought that we did in the first couple minutes with a lot of turnovers, and they went out going and banging shots,” Greenville head coach Nathan Walk said. “ We were able to study the ship and made a run and gout out about 7-8 points. They tried to press and we were able to handle it.

“Defense has been a key for us during parts of the season. When our base defense tends to get a little stagnant, we try to trap and speed it up and that worked out tonight.“

The Tigers were paced by Brock Davis (23 points) and Casen Stephens (16).

“When you coming in the Greenville’s defense makes them a very powerful team,” Neelyville head coach Bead Burdin said. “ We knew they like to get turnovers in the first quarter. We did a nice job controlling the ball and getting all we wanted to. After that it went downhill.

“After halftime, we try to get it a little pick up the pace and try to get some turnovers, but they handled it well, and they like to play fast. They dominated the boards and their big guys are really tough.”

Burdin was pleased with his team being willing to compete, but he acknowledged they were beaten by the better team.

Neelyville came out with patience and a clinical offensive attack making numerous extra passes to find the right shot and led 7-0 over the first three minutes.

The Bears got into the groove by relentless pounding the paint and the hosts crept back in as the teams were locked in a 12-all tie after eight minutes.

Greenville (14-1) continued to trap the corners and Neelyville (10-7) struggled to pass out of it once put on its heels.

The teams exchanged big shots and top defensive play, but the Bears started to get its footing and found itself with a 20-16 lead.

The Bears would extend their advantage to nine before going into the intermission up 31-24.

The Tigers came out with a foot on the gas and cut the deficit to three points on a layup by Stephens.

But Greenville has had the season its had thanks to being able to recognize the time and place and they immediately answered with an 8-0 run over two minutes to take the Bears biggest lead to that point.

The run ended with the Bears up 44-30 and they would advance to the final quarter up 49-35.

The game was decided when the Tigers trapped and pressed hoping to create momentum, but the Bears were more than ready to handle it and sliced their way down the court for a plethora of easy baskets to build a 62-39 advantage with five minutes left to go.

The lead got as big as 29 points.

Evans and company are feeling good about where they are at, but there is much more to achieve.

“ I feel we have a very legitimate shot to win our district and move on to the next few games,” Evans said. “ Our plan is to get up there and play in Springfield. I think we’re playing very well as a team right now. Everyone, they try to speed us up and try to get us to not play our game and we always seem to play controlled.“