Purples Take Two from the Gators

By Joe Brunk:

Friday nights in January almost always mean a district double header for Bowling Green, this week took us out to the Swamp for some interesting match ups. The Lady Purples looking for their first district win of the season, while the fellas looking to contain a Gator team trying to find their stride.

The Lady Purples would take the lead early in this one, and never let go. Deija Moore knocked down three from downtown to charge the BG offense in the first half, leading all scorers with nine. But the third quarter was where the Lady Purples began to pull away, outscoring Greenwood 23-8. They would cruise to victory 73-49. Taylor Hunter and Oneisha Turner both finished with 16 to lead Bowling Green.

The guys would not come out as hot. Greenwood would dictate the pace early. While Tucker Sine had nine in the first quarter, he and the rest of the team couldn’t find the basket in the second, and the Gators went on an eight point run to take the lead. Purples would get it back to one possession, but trailed 22-25 at the half. The third quarter would be tense and low scoring. Malik Carothers would get a layup and a free throw at the buzzer to put the Purples up 30-29 after three. Greenwood would come out and seize control in fourth, and would lead by six with 45 seconds remaining. After two missed free throws from the Gators, Carothers would draw a foul and make both free throws. Then the Purples hit the press, forcing a turnover on the inbound. A Tucker Sine three would make it a one point game. A couple of turnovers and free throws later, Purples trailed by two in the final seconds, but Terry Taylor would get a basket off a rebound before the buzzer, and we head to overtime! Taylor and Kyran Jones keep the Purples on top in the extra period, and Bowling Green would win 62-58! Terry Taylor would finish with 21 points. Tucker Sine and Malik Carothers both had 15.