In high school basketball action from the Ketcham Community Center on Saturday afternoon, the Green City High School girls and boys survived strong challenges from Gallatin to remain unbeaten.
On the opening day of the 2024 Holiday Hoops event at North Central Missouri College, the Lady Gophers received a superb floor game from point guard Macy Jeffries, with 25 points leading the way to a 53-40 win over the Lady Bulldogs. Power forward Jaryn Hatcher added 16 for Green City (6-0). For Gallatin (5-3), Brynn Bird had 14 points and Kallie Salmon 11.
The boys game was a back-and-forth low-scoring thriller, with the Bulldogs and Gophers switching momentum surges in the blink of an eye. In the end, a game-changing 17-2 spurt by Green City that started into the third quarter and lasted into the fourth allowed the Gophers to earn a 50-45 win.
Down by three points with momentum having switched to their side, the Bulldogs had a chance to tie the game in the final ten seconds of regulation, but Green City guard Xander Salas stole a Gallatin hand-off 25 feet away from the basket to clinch the victory for the Gophers (6-0). Salas, immediately fouled on the play, hit a pair of free throws to finish with four points.
Ty Hall had 14 points and Noah Tipton 13 for Green City, while Gallatin (6-2), having lost to another Class 1 2024 Final Four participant (Braymer was the Bulldogs other loss), had Gavin Wilmes with a game-high 18 points while Reid Hemry added 12.
Holiday Hoops continues Monday evening with a doubleheader between the Brunswick Wildcats and La Plata Bulldogs, with the girls game at 5 o’clock, and boys to follow at 6:30.
