Peebles junior Payton Johnston finds an open path to the rim in the India’s 41-33 loss to Georgetown at the 2024 Coach Young Classic. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
Indians drop 41-33 decision at Young Classic
Getting the step around the corner around a Georgetown defender is Peebles’ Gage Grooms (22) as the Indians fell to the G-Men at Saturday’s Coach Young Classic at NAHS. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
Other than their two wins over West Union, the offensive story for Coach Josh Arey and his Peebles Indians has been one of struggles. The inability to consistently put points on the scoreboard has plagued the Indians since the season’s beginning, a big contributor to their 5-8 overall record. Of course, Coach Arey’s teams play tough, disciplined defense which has been key to them staying close to the .500 mark.
After dropping four straight, the Tribe was in action at last Saturday’s Coach Young Classic, facing off with the Georgetown G-Men out of the SBAAC. To be brutally honest, the contest was not exactly an offensive clinic for other team as points were hard to come by, but in the end the majority of those points went to the Georgetown as they headed back to Brown County with their seventh victory of the season, downing the Indians 41-33.
In the opening period, the offensive struggles began to become apparent, especially for the Indians, though they grabbed an early 4-0 lead on baskets from Payton Johnston and Garrett Shiveley, but it was nearly six minutes before the Tribe found the net again. In the meantime, the G-Men put up a 12-0 run, keyed by back-to-back three-pointers from Aiden Johnson and Jayson Marks. The Indians finally regained some momentum and finished the first quarter just as they had started it, with four straight on a CJ Oldfield three-ball and a free throw from Johnston, leaving them down 12-8 after one.
The middle quarter of Saturday’s match up was a forgettable one for both teams as each side could only muster two baskets in eight minutes of play. It was nearly three minutes in before anyone scored, a bucket by Georgetown’s Aiden Werner. Peebles answered with another basket by Johnston and one by Carson Reed, and the G-Men finished the first half scoring with a two-pointer from Trevor Ellis. All in all it added up to a 16-12 halftime advantage for Georgetown.
After combining for just 28 first half points, the two teams flipped the script in the third quarter and combined for 24. The G-Men launched the first attack, getting a pair of three-pointers from Austin Miles to take a 22-14 lead. Reed garnered the first Peebles score of the second half as the Indians spent the third quarter trying to slice into the larger Georgetown advantage. Another score in the paint from Werner gave the G-Men a double digit lead at 26-16, but the Indians answered with four straight to pull within six, but a late Werner basket kept the Georgetown lead at eight, 30-22 as the third quarter closed.
Things looked gloomier for the Indians when Miles opened the final frame with his third triple of the half, followed by a Werner bucket in the paint to extend the Georgetown lead to 35-22. The Indians began their comeback the way they’d prefer, with the clock stopped, getting two free throws each from Shiveley and Hayden Browning, and then later completed an 8-2 run with Gage Grooms turning a Georgetown turnover into an easy layup and Browning hitting a short jumper in the lane.
With their lead sliced down to six at 37-31 and the clock under two minutes, the G-Men responded, keeping the Indians scoreless and adding on baskets by Jayson ans Jaxson Marks to put the in on ice, a 10-point lead in the final minute. Peebles got a steal and score from Browning with 19.1 seconds left, the final points in the 41-33 win for the G-Men.
For Coach Cory Copas and his victorious G-Men, two players hit double figures, Aiden Werner with 12 and Austin Miles right behind with 11.
The Peebles scorebook was a balanced one, Hayden Browning with 7, Garrett Shiveley and Carson Reed with 6 each and Payton Johnston and CJ Oldfield both with 5.
The Indians looked to snap that five-game losing streak on Tuesday, January 16 when they hosted the Portsmouth West Senators in non-conference play. On Saturday, January 20 the Tribe will be back in Southern Hills Athletic Conference action when they visit the Manchester Greyhounds.
Georgetown
12 4 14 11 —41
Peebles
8 4 10 11 —33
Georgetown (41): Jayson Marks 3 0-0 7, Johnson 1 0-0 3, Miles 3 2-2 11, Jaxson Marks 2 0-0 4, Ellis 2 0-0 4, Werner 6 0-1 12, Team 17 2-3 41.
Peebles (33): Shiveley 2 2-2 6, Reed 3 0-1 6, Oldfield 1 2-2 5, Browning 2 3-4 7, Johnston 2 1-2 5, Grooms 2 0-0 4. Team 12 8-11 33.
Three-Point Goals:
Georgetown (5)- Johnson 1, Miles 3, Jayson Marks 1
Peebles (1)- Oldfield 1
