After five weeks and four games, the Greene County High School boys’ basketball teamthought they would finally be at full strength Saturday vs. Grinnell in Jefferson. They weren’t. Sophomore Jesse Miller, the only real height the Rams have at 6′ 5″, played his first game of the season following COVID-19 concerns. Starter Jackson Morton played for the first time on Tuesday in the loss at West Marshall and injured an ankle less than four minutes into the game. Morton later returned to the court Tuesday, but sat out Saturday’s game vs. Grinnell. Starter Richard Daugherty missed the first game of the season and several reserves have also missed time.
As a result, the Rams haven’t been able to practice or play games without someone missing. Coach Chris Nelson’s team fell to 0-5 with a 53-38 loss to Grinnell in the last of four games at the first Greene County Classic in the new High School Gym. The main culprit was cold shooting, as has been the case so far this season. Unofficially, the Rams were 14 of 47 from the field, including six of 22 from three-point range, and four of nine from the free throw line. Bryce Stalder was the lone Ram in double figures with 13 points. The Rams battled a much taller Grinnell team close until the closing minutes. Greene County went two of 12 from the field in the last quarter while the Tigers were six of eight in that same time period.
The Greene County girls lost 54-11 to Pocahontas Area in Saturday’s Classic. The Maidens improved to 4-2 on the season while the Rams fell to 2-3. The visiting team scored the first 36 points of the game, led 39-3 at the half, and continually bothered the Rams with pressure defense. Unofficially, GreeneCounty had 27 first half turnovers and 37 for the game. PA had only 12 turnovers while substituting liberally. The Rams made only five of 23 shots from the floor, and went one of one from the foul line. PA was 22 of 59 from the field and five of nine shooting free throws. Coach Todd Gordon’s team played its second straight game without leading scorer and rebounder Brianna Habben due to an ankle injury.
Next up for the Rams is a Heart of Iowa Activities Conference girl/boy doubleheader Tuesday at Nevada. Both games can be heard on KG98 and streamed on www.raccoonvalleyradio.com with coverage beginning around 5:40 p.m.