~by Dustin Teays for The Scranton Journal
The Greene County Rams boys’ basketball team fell to a pair of Heart of Iowa Conference opponents last week.
With the postseason looming, the Rams boys are still focused on closing out the regular season slate of games. This past week featured two games, resulting in losses for the Rams in a 77-53 game against Saydel Feb. 4 and a 64-31 loss to West Marshall Feb. 7.
In their game against Saydel, two quarters determined the game’s outcome: the Rams were outscored 20-8 in the first quarter and 23-9 in the third quarter. The Rams outscored Saydel 20-18 in the second quarter and were tied 16-16 in the fourth.
Two Rams scored in the double figures as Isaac Carman led the team with 15 points, and Broc Stream was just behind him with 10 points. Nathan Towers was just outside double figures with nine points. Carman also led the team in rebounds with eight, and both Rafe Michaelsen and Towers were tied for second with five apiece. Fouls played a factor in the game, as there were 23 overall for the Rams, with two players fouling out.
In their game against West Marshall, the Rams couldn’t get things going on offense as they shot just 12 of 44 from the floor for a 27.3 percent field goal percentage. A positive was their three-point shooting as they shot 35.7 from beyond the arc.
Carman led the scoring department for the Rams again with 11 points. Stream was second on the team with eight, and Camden Jacobs was third with six. Lincoln Schwander, Carman, and Jacobs had a good night on the glass with four rebounds apiece.
The Rams have a plethora of guys who have been contributing all year long and it shows in the stat sheet as there isn’t a single player on the roster who hasn’t contributed in some way, highlighting the depth the team has. Isaac Carman and Broc Stream have been the primary scorers for the Rams as both have surpassed 100 total points this season. Nick Madsen and Rafe Michaelsen are right on the edge of surpassing 100 points for the season and very well could get there before season’s end.
While both games with the Rams had them losing their second game to these teams this year, they scored more points in each of these contests than they did the first time facing these teams this year, and getting better at the end of the year is a great thing when the postseason is looming large.
The Rams have two games this week as they were scheduled to take on the Southeast Valley Jaguars on Monday and then the South Hamilton Hawks on Tuesday before their first round of postseason action.
After the Rams play in their last two regular season games this week, they will then have their first round of postseason basketball which will be played against Pleasantville Monday, Feb. 17, beginning at 7 pm. The winner of this game will earn the right to face West Marshall who is the number two seed. The Rams are more than familiar with the Trojans as they have beaten the Rams twice this season.
