The Greene County Ram boys basketball team lost its first basketball game of the season when it hosted the Nevada Cubs at the middle school in Jefferson Friday evening. The loss put the Rams at 3-1 in the Heart of Iowa Activities Conference and on the season, while the Cubs are at 4-0.
The boys played a tight game in the first half and were down by one point, 33-34 at halftime. The Cubs put on a 17-point run in the third quarter and the Rams never caught up. Final score in the boys game was 69-59 in favor of the Cubs.
The score was tied six times during the first half, with a 31-31 score with 19 seconds left to play. Junior Tyler Beger sank a pair of free throws to go up 33-31, but 3-point shot on the buzzer put the Cubs up by a point.
With 4:15 to play in the third quarter the Rams were up 42-36, but the Cubs put up 17 unanswered points before the end of the quarter. Of the 17 points, nine were at the free throw line. Free throws were a major factor in the game. Of the Cubs’ 69 points, 28 of them were made from the free throw line. The Cubs shot 28 of 32 for 87.5 percent.
The Rams had fewer trips to the free throw line and made even less. They were 11 of 21, for just more than 52 percent.
At the end of the third quarter the Cubs were up by 11 points, 53-42. The Rams played along in the fourth quarter and were as close as five points twice, but they couldn’t overcome the deficit and lost by 10 points.
Sophomore Trey Tucker was lead scorer for the Rams with 24 points, his lowest scoring game this season. The Cubs held him to only four points in the first quarter. Tucker scored three 3-point baskets. He was at the foul line for nine shots, all in the fourth quarter, and made five of them.
Seniors Landon Braun and Riah Nelsen each had 10 points. Braun had two 3-point shots early in the game but didn’t score in the second half. Nelsen’s points came as three field goals and four of seven free throw shooting. Tyler Beger scored five points and Max Neese scored four points. Mitchell Gorsuch made a 3-point shot for his only score of the game. Reid Lamoureux scored three points.
