Loyal takes care of a determined Gilman Pirates team
By Harry Toufar The Loyal Greyhounds hosted the Gilman Pirates last Thursday, and Gilman came to town the winner of six games overall and just two in the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference. On paper, it looked like the Pirates would have an uphill battle.
In the early going, it looked nothing like that at all. Three and a half minutes elapsed before Hunter Walter made the first Loyal basket, followed by a Cain Toufar basket putting the Greyhounds up 4-0.
The Pirates hit two free throws before Rhett Lamovec scored. The Pirates continued their inspired start by scoring twice to tie the game with just under 11 minutes remaining in the half. Reed Stieglitz hit a 3-pointer before the Pirates scored twice, tying the game at nine apiece. A 3-pointer by Stieglitz, two free throws by Aaron Radue, and a basket by Toufar padded Loyal's lead.
The Pirates continued their inspired play by hitting a 3-pointer to bring them to within four at 16-12. Toufar and Walter scored again, pushing the lead to eight points. Two Pirate free throws made it a 6-point game. Another Stieglitz 3-pointer and a Radue basket prompted a timeout by the Gilman coach with 4:02 left on the clock. Lamovec (4 points) and a Carson Bremmer 3-pointer finished a 12-0 run to go up by 18. Stieglitz and Toufar scored for Loyal while Gilman was adding seven points to their total. The Greyhounds went into the locker room leading 36-21.
Stieglitz started the second half with a basket before Gilman hit two 3-pointers. Stieglitz drained another long-range shot before Gilman scored. Loyal started to pull ahead with a 7-0 run before Gilman scored again. Stieglitz continued his torrid 3-point shooting by drilling one from beyond the arc for a 20-point lead. Gilman would not succumb to the pressure, as they hit another 3-pointer. Loyal had a short 6-0 run before Gilman banged in another 3-pointer. AStieglitz 3-pointer and a 2-pointer, a Carson Prein basket, two free throws by Toufar, and a Radue basket pretty much sunk the Pirate ship for the evening. The final score was 72-46.
Stieglitz led the Greyhounds in scoring with 24 points (eight field goals including 6-of-9 from 3-point land) and went 2-2 from the charity stripe. Toufar scored 15 points with 10 rebounds. Aaron Radue had a phenomenal game coming off the bench, scoring 11 points. He had one 3-pointer and was 2-2 from the line. Lamovec and Bremmer (two 3-pointers) each scored 6 points. Walter -4, Bryce Deegan-3, and Prein-3 rounded out the Greyhound scoring. As of Monday, Loyal’s record stood at 15-6 (8-4 in the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference). They were scheduled for a huge matchup with Owen-Withee on Tuesday, and will close out their conference season with a home game against Greenwood this Friday night.
