Greenbrier won its 13th consecutive game of the season Friday night at home against Portland, but they had to earn it with a 49-43 come-from-behind victory over the Panthers.
Trailing for much of the first three quarters, the Bobcats erased a seven-point deficit with a gritty fourth-quarter performance, outscoring Portland 19-6 in the final frame.
“We expected a battle tonight,” Greenbrier coach Kenton Coleman said. “Portland is extremely talented, so we knew it was going to be a tight one. Our guys just lifted each other up and our energy really picked up. One stop on defense led to another, and we played our best defensive game in the fourth quarter.”
While the Panthers maintained the momentum early with a strong shooting performance, Greenbrier’s defense found its groove to close the game and kept Portland from making a single field goal in the fourth.
After a tight, back-and-forth first quarter, Portland gained a comfortable 22-16 lead before the half after consecutive threes from Freddy Paxton.
The Panthers kept their foot on the gas in the third. Chase Runyon led the way with nine points in the quarter, including two threes and a four-point play after a shooting foul.
Portland ran out of gas in the fourth, however, and Greenbrier took full advantage. Trailing 37-30, the Bobcats opened the fourth on an 8-0 run. After two free throws from Paxton temporarily gave the Panthers the lead back, Greenbrier responded with another 9-2 run to help ice the game.
“We played not to lose in the fourth and we haven’t done that all year,” Portland coach Darryl Travis said. “We played like we were waiting for the clock to run out, and you can’t do that against a good team.
“We had two players that tried to play tonight with the flu, and they just ran out of gas late in the game.”
Brayden Rector led the way for the Bobcats in the final period with eight points and finished with a team-high 17 points.
Greenbrier improved to 15-1 overall and 3-0 in District 9-3A, while Portland fell to 11-7 and 3-1 in district play.
“We’re just trying to get better in each game,” Coleman said. “We’re just looking forward to the district tournament, and we know that anything can happen. Hopefully we’re playing our best basketball later in the season and we haven’t peaked yet.”
BOX SCORE:
Greenbrier (49): Brayden Rector 17, Jayce Mangrum 12, Bryson Merrill 8, D.J. Jackson 5, Nolan Carson 4, Derek Taylor 3.
Portland (43): Chase Runyon 18, Freddy Paxton 12, Duncan Smallwood 4, Will Hester 3, Montaize Bradley 2, Hunter Hicks 2, Caeson Utley 2.
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