01-22-2019
BY JACK BULLOCK
HARRISBURG – When you are a higher seed in a tournament, you want to make sure you have the least amount of drama possible in your opening round contest.

Audie Goebel of Gallatin County made sure that his Hawks were in a “drama free” zone Tuesday night in their opening round domination of Galatia.

Goebel topped all scorers with 32-points, scoring exactly half of his teams' points in a 64-38 triumph to advance to Friday night's semifinals.

The 6-foot senior guard/forward, who plays much bigger than his height, was nearly unstoppable as Gallatin County rolled to a 21-2 early lead and were never threatened by the Bearcats as they improved to 14-7 overall for the season.

Coach Jeff Herrmann's club led from start to finish in the win that sent Galatia into the consolation bracket on Thursday.

Senior guard Robbie Prince added 10-points while senior forward Garrett Rushing added nine.

“He (Goebel) is a good kid and a great guy to coach. He listens to me and I try to get him to score a little more than he does. Tonight he scored for us,” said Coach Herrmann. “Rushing and Prince also played well. Rushing is our '5-10 center' out there, he guards the other team's big kid.”

The Hawks hit their first five field goals and were never threatened as the will now play Pope County, who topped NCOE in the other quarterfinal game on Tuesday night.

Gallatin County hit 27-of-51 shots from the floor (52.9 percent) while the pounded Galatia on the glass with a 32-17 rebounding edge.

Coach Herrmann's club ended up 24-of-41 (58.5 percent) from inside of the arc.

“Our seniors showed up. They know it is getting closer to the end of the year and they know it is time to play,” said Coach Herrmann. “They came out and set the tone real well tonight. We have been working on our press.”

The Hawks pressure, especially early in the game, set the tone for the night.

Head coach Rod Wallace's team committed 19-turnovers, with seven coming in the first quarter, as the Hawks forced most of the issues.

Braxton Lane, a junior guard for Galatia, led the Bearcats (4-14) with 14-points while senior forward Dominic Ammon and freshman Zane Carlile added six-point apiece.

When they weren't turning the ball over, Galatia was just 14-of-39 from the field (35.8 percent) and were held to just three offensive rebounds.

The Hawks handled the ball well on the night, turning it over just 11-times with five of those by reserves late in the game.

Goebel scored seven points in an 11-0 run that began the contest.

Two drives to the basket by Goebel, a Prince drive inside and then consecutive 3-point bombs by Goebel and Rushing put Gallatin County in control.

Following a basket by Galatia freshman Zane Carlile, the Hawks scored the next 10-points.

Junior Dawson Hish got in on the fun, taking an assist from Prince for a lay in to continue the onslaught.

Goebel rebounded his own miss for a bucket and sophomore Gunner Wilson got in on the fun late in the quarter with a lay in and he also added 1-of-2 free throws.

Rushing drilled home yet another 3-pointer for a 21-2 lead with 2:59 left in the first quarter.

To the Bearcats' credit, they didn't quit.

They finally got on track with Ammon hitting 1-of-2 foul shots and Lane hitting two 3-pointers.

The second trey will be a memorable one for the junior guard.

With the clock running down Lane, while still in the backcourt, the 5-foot-10 guard launched a 75-footer that banked home at the buzzer as the Bearcats had cut the Hawks' spread to just 24-10.

Galatia got within 11-points of Gallatin County in the second quarter as Coach Wallace saw his club take better care of the ball (two turnovers) and hit 6-of-11 shots from the floor.

Lane scored six-points in the second stanza.

Following a 3-pointer from freshman Trevor Hale, Lane scored on a fast break that got the Bearcats to 30-19 at the 3:53 mark.

Gallatin County closed the half with two buckets from Prince and another inside score from Goebel to close the half at 40-24.

Goebel scored nine-straight points with three drives inside and a 3-pointer.

Reserve Will Henson picked up a loose ball forced in the Galatia backcourt and scored on a lay in for a 51-28 lead.

It was one of five Galatia third quarter turnovers in the period.

Goebel added one more basket in the quarter and a drive on the right side of the lane by Prince produced a bank shot for a goal and a 56-32 lead heading into the final frame.

Goebel had a couple of issues on the night, although none factored into the outcome.

His was only 2-of-7 from the foul line and he was issued a technical foul on a missed dunk where he hung on the rim.

However he added two more made baskets before heading to the bench to watch the reserves from both teams run out the clock late with it 62-34.

The Hawks have split two games with their next opponent this season, winning at home against the Pirates 62-49 on December 7 and losing 65-55 at Pope County on January 5.

Galatia will play NCOE on Thursday night at 6:30 pm in the consolation bracket.

“The boys have been excited about it (GEC Tournament) and this is a big week. This is an important tournament for our schools,” said Coach Herrmann. “Right now we have to concentrate on Pope County. They are playing well right now.”