JAMESTOWN — Being balanced in all phases of the game has led to a lot of success so far for Greeneview this season.
Of the core seven players, three entered Tuesday’s game against OHC North Division leading West Liberty Salem averaging double figures in scoring. Six in total average at least six points. Five are pulling in three rebounds a game and three are averaging at least two assists.
“I think they trust each other and like to share the ball with one another,” head coach Kyle Fulk said. “It’s really fun to watch when we do that.”
The Rams passed its latest test in dominating the second half against the Tigers for a 61-48 win. The win comes on the heels of a Holiday Tournament title to wrap up 2021 and is the team’s fourth straight overall.
Carter Williams leads the team in scoring at 11.7, Ethen Caudill in rebounding with 7.7 and Jordan Erisman in assists at 2.4 per game. Ben Myers leads the OHC in field goal percentage, and Chase Allen is near the team lead in three-point percentage.
In Tuesday’s game, Ronnie McKinney scored nine and Myles Witt also had eight. The Rams have developed an any night for any man mindset.
“None of these guys I feel like are trying to go in and make 20 or 25 points in a game,” Fulk said. “They’re fine if it’s their night and they’re fine when it is not. And most nights we haven’t had a guy where it’s been his night. It’s been balanced scoring across-the-board and those are teams which are fun to coach.”
Greeneview is one of the top scoring teams in the OHC, but its defense has been just as strong. Only one opponent during the current win streak has reached 50 points.
“Getting in transition is where I feel we are really good and you can’t get out on the break unless you make some stops so we try to preach that a lot,” Fulk said. ‘I feel like our kids really bought in on the defensive end in the second half. I think we only held them to 19 points which against a team like West Liberty is very good.”
Greeneview (9-2) led 32-29 at halftime on Tuesday after using a 12-2 run to break open a tie game early before WLS stormed back.
The Rams built its lead using a barrage of three-pointers, which is also how the Tigers clawed its way back by hitting four of its own in the second quarter.
After halftime, Greeneview was deliberate on both ends of the floor to build back its lead while frustrating WLS in the process.
“I thought our effort was good both halves,” Fulk said. “We made more mental mistakes in the first half than we did in the second half. Our effort level with these guys, I never have to question it.”
Greeneview remains in second-place in the difficult OHC South where four of the six teams have a winning record in league play.
Fulk believes the team has been one his easiest to coach and is taking the steps needed to continue competing for a league crown.
“I’m really happy with the way that we’re building, but the same way we try to talk about stacking defense of stops off one another, we need to make sure we’re stacking good performances on top of one another to keep getting better,” he said.
