It was a tale of two halves for the Goodrich varsity boys basketball team in their Feb. 7 game against Mt. Morris.
The Martians struggled on offense in the first half, scoring 14 points as they went into halftime trailing the visiting Panthers 19-14. However, the Martians righted the ship in the second half to come away with a 50-42 victory in Genesee Area Conference action.
It was the second time the Martians had defeated the Panthers this season. Goodrich improved to 6-9 overall and 6-7 in league play, while Mt. Morris fell to 4-9 overall and 3-8 in the league.
‘I challenged them at halftime,? Goodrich coach Gary Barns said. ‘We missed some easy shots and layups in the first half. At times we were OK, but we were a bit out of sync.?
The Martians tied the Panthers at 31 at the end of the third period when senior Zac Glynn took the ball the length of the floor and scored at the buzzer. Goodrich then outscored Mt. Morris 19-11 in the second half.
‘Our execution was much better in the second half,? Barns said.
Junior Matt Christensen drilled two three-point shots on his way to a team-leading 14 points, and also put together a solid defensive effort, forcing six Mt. Morris turnovers.
Glynn added 11 points, seven assists and four steals for the Martians, while junior Ty Purdy led Goodrich with eight rebounds.
Christensen was also the team’s leading scorer Feb. 3 against Durand. His 16 points helped the Martians defeat the visiting Railroaders 71-59 in a GAC matchup.
The Martians trailed 13-11 after the first quarter, but bounced back in the second quarter, as Eric Hughes and Ross Gauthier scored four points apiece in the period. Goodrich took a 27-24 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Martians increased their lead to 51-44, thanks in part to excellent free throw shooting in that period. As a team, Goodrich made 11-of-13 free throw attempts (84.6 percent) in the third.
The Martians shot 22-of-32 from the free throw line for the game (68.8 percent), compared to Durand’s 14-of-27 performance (51.9 percent) from the charity stripe.
Christensen connected on three three-point shots to account for nine of his 16 points. Bobby Short had nine points and four steals for the Martians, while Jake Smigiel added nine points and eight rebounds.
Purdy led the Martians with 11 rebounds (including four offensive rebounds), while Hughes contributed six steals and five assists.