It hung around for two quarters, but a rough second half dealt the Bowling Green boys’ basketball team a 64-54 loss to a lengthy Ensworth (Tenn.) team on Saturday in the Rafferty’s Shootout at South Warren High School.
The Purples (3-2) led 18-16 after the first quarter and trailed by just four at 32-28 at halftime. However, Ensworth took control in the second half and BG wasn’t able to keep up.
“The effort was great. I though we kept fighting,” Bowling Green coach Derrick Clubb said. “We struggled to make shots and get into any type of flow offensively, but my goodness we played hard. That’s a really good basketball team. They kicked our butt tonight.”
In a defeat that snapped a three-game winning streak, Jarius Key carried Bowling Green with 32 points and continued to be a leader for a young Purples’ team.
“Playing hard is a talent, and when I talk to college coaches, they always say that,” Clubb said of Key. They say that’s a skill that we look at – kids that have a high motor to play hard – and he’s got it. My goodness.”
Ensworth came out of the locker room after the break and fired on all cylinders in the third quarter.
Leading 32-28, Ensworth used a 13-0 run to take a 13-point lead of 49-36 at the 2:21 mark. It went on to carry a 54-40 advantage into the final quarter.
“In the third quarter, we just kind of let up those two or three minutes, but we tried to play our hardest and finish the game, win or lose,” Key said.
The Purples were able to cut their deficit to nine at 58-49 with 2:07 left but that’s as close as they would get.
“I thought we played hard and battled,” said Clubb. “Just there for a little while they made more shots than we did. We had a few empty possessions and they hit a few threes. But we just kept playing hard and kept competing.”
Senior writer Tyler Mansfield can be reached at mansfield.sportingtimes@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at @_TylerMansfield.
