Quitman boys run away from GS in second half

By Larry Tucker
editor@wood.cm
Posted 1/8/20

You may be able to frustrate the Quitman Bulldogs, but don’t make them angry. After a rugged first half physical battle found Quitman leading only 30-28, the Bulldogs made halftime adjustments …

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Quitman boys run away from GS in second half

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You may be able to frustrate the Quitman Bulldogs, but don’t make them angry. After a rugged first half physical battle found Quitman leading only 30-28, the Bulldogs made halftime adjustments and came back in the second half to pound Grand Saline by the final tally 78-61. It was the first win for Quitman at Grand Saline in Coach Jim Reid’s five years at Quitman.

Reid said his team made adjustments.

“Grand Saline had a good game plan to take Jace (Reid) and Trey (Berry) out of the game early,” he said. “I don’t know if we were just nervous or just with it being the first district game. I was proud of the way we came back and played our game in the second half. Rylie (Flanagan) and Ford (Tannebaum) stepped up early for us and played well. It was a really good team win. It’s good to have Corrior (Aiden) back from his injury. We ended up playing him more than we thought we would be able to.”

The Bulldogs got to an early 5-0 lead as 5’7” sophomore Tannebaum hit a three-pointer from the corner, and Flanagan nailed a jumper from the middle of the lane. Tannebaum hit another bomb from three-point land to make it 8-1 at the 4:28 mark of the opening period 

The return of Corrior made a big difference for Quitman on both ends of the floor. The 6’2” Corrior added the next four points as he glided through the Indian defense giving Quitman a 12-6 advantage. Corrior was also instrumental in breaking the Indian press with elusive moves and ball handling.

After being shut out the entire quarter and double-teamed most of the time, Reid connected on a deep three from the top of the key with less than a minute left to give the Bulldogs a 15-10 first-quarter edge. The second quarter was close with a Corrior triple as the half ended giving Quitman a 30-28 lead. Although Grand Saline fought hard and kept it close, the Indians never led.

Coach Reid said the Bulldogs picked it up on defense in the second half.

“We are working hard to be better on defense,” he said. “We knew we needed to guard better. We talked about it at halftime, about how to guard better. We came out the second half and did a great job going back and forth between the man and zone defenses and did a really good job on it.”

Reid and Berry each got into foul trouble early and played the second half with three fouls, but neither player was to be denied in the second half. The Bulldogs got the ball to start the second half and it took all of 10 seconds for Berry to pop in a three-point shot from the wing starting a 16-0 run for the Bulldogs. Reid scored eight points in the next two minutes putting Quitman up 42-28. Flanagan hit a short jumper giving Quitman a 44-28 lead. 

For Reid, the 6’3” senior was not to be denied as he took over the game offensively, scoring 30 second half points after just getting five in the first half. Reid turned his early frustration into positive action in the final two quarters. He hit 6-10 from the three-point line for an almost unheard of 60 percent from that distance. He also added 9-11 from the free throw line and had nine rebounds.

Tannebaum and Corrior each had 12 points and Berry added eight points. Berry also had a solid defensive performance and did a great job feeding teammates with pinpoint passing while recording seven assists. Flanagan added eight points and seven rebounds. Chris Chabaud came off the bench scoring three points with a pair of assists and rebounds. Chabaud also made several hustle plays to keep the ball in Quitman’s hands and not give it up to the Indians, while his defense forced the Indians into several mistakes. 

The Bulldogs are 1-0 in District 12-3A and 11-9 for the year. After a home game against Edgewood Tuesday, the Bulldogs go to Emory to face the Rains Wildcats Friday.