Rebels rally back behind scoring trio to turn away Bobcats

FRANKLIN FURNACE — For both the Green Bobcats and the South Gallia Rebels, it was a tale of two halves.

During the first half the Bobcats had the hot hand, scoring at will to build up a large lead. However, the script would flip in the second with the Rebels getting superb individual scoring efforts to rally back and win 85-79 in the Division 7 District Quarterfinals.

"I thought in the first half, we dominated the transition game. But in the second half, it was kind of the other way around. We let them get out for some easy baskets," said Green coach JD King. "Credit to (Snyder) he had a heck of a game. He hit a couple of shots you have to live with."

South Gallia had three players hit double figures with JJ Snyder leading the team with a huge offensive performance. The junior guard came off the bench and finished with a game-high 33 points. Caleb Frazee finished with 21 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Carson Stowers had 18 points, four steals and 3 assists.

Green was paced offensively by Jon Knapp with 32 points, 9 rebounds and a pair of assists. Riddick Jenkins provided a huge game off the bench for the Bobcats with 16 points and Gabe Blevins had 9.

The Bobcats outscored the Rebels 17-13 in a fast-paced first quarter, with Knapp scoring 9 of the team's first quarter points and Gabe Blevins having 5.

Stowers put the Rebels ahead 13-10 with a triple with 1:06 remaining in the quarter.

But the Bobcats would score 7-straight as Knapp would hit a 3-pointer in transition and get a steal for a layup, then Blevins would hit two free throws to finish the scoring burst.

Green would begin to expand their lead during the second with 4 different players hitting a shot from behind the arc. Blevins, Brennan Renison, Knapp and Kase McIntyre all hit from long range on 4-straight offensive trips to push the lead out to 33-17 with 3:22 left before halftime.

Stowers helped the Rebels keep pace in the first half, hitting four 3-pointers and scoring 15 of his points in the first half. His final trey of the half, along with a put back at the buzzer from Frazee cut into Green's lead, but the Bobcats still led 38-28.

In the third quarter, the Rebels mounted a couple attempts to close the gap.

South Gallia would shave the deficit down to 6 points on two different occasions during the frame.

The final time would come when Frazee converted a pair of free throws to close out the third and trail 54-48 heading into the fourth quarter.

During the final quarter, Frazee and Snyder would combine to help lead the Rebels' comeback. Snyder piled in three more shots from downtown for 9 of his 11 points and Frazee scored 10.

The Rebels would pull to within 63-62 at the 3:06 mark following Snyder's third 3-pointer of the quarter from 25 feet away.

Frazee would complete South Gallia's comeback midway through the third with a steal by the scorers table and go in for two to give the Rebels a 64-63 lead.

Layne Wright would later sink a free throw to give South Gallia a 71-69 lead with 48 seconds showing on the clock.

Knapp answered for Green with a drive to the rim for two and tied the game up with 23 seconds remaining in regulation and sent the game into overtime.

In overtime, Snyder put the Rebels up for good with a rebound from the foul line and sank a jumper to ignite an 8-0 run to begin the extra frame.

Stowers would help cap off the win with a free throw and then steal the ensuing inbound pass and dump the ball off to Layne Wright to give the final score.

South Gallia coach Travis Elliott credited the second half comeback to his seniors and their will to win. Elliott also threw some praise to Hunter Wright, who made an impact with details that don't appear on the stat sheet.

"I think it was our seniors more than anything," said South Gallia coach Travis Elliott. "At the half, they said we're not going out like this. We're going to compete."

"I want to give a shout out to Hunter Wright. His stats may not show a lot but the way he guarded competed. Never complained, diving on 50/50 balls, setting great screens, we wouldn't have gotten that win without his effort," said Elliott.

With the win, the Rebels move to 8-15 on the season and advance to the district semifinals at Waverly's Downtown Arena where they will face Leesburg Fairfield. The Bobcats finish their season 12-11.

South Gallia 13 15 20 23 14 = 85

Green 17 21 16 17 8 = 79

SOUTH GALLIA (8-15): Layne Wright 3 0 2-4 8, Caleb Frazee 4 2 7-10 21, Hunter Wright 0 0 0-0 0, Hayden Kemp 0 0 3-4 3, Carson Stowers 0 5 3-4 18, JJ Snyder 9 5 0-0 33, Dusty Mooney 1 0 0-0 2, Wyatt Clary 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17 12 16-22 85. Rebounds: 27 (H. Wright 7, L. Wright 6, Frazee 5). Assists: 5 (Stowers 3). Steals: 10 (Frazee 4, Stowers 4, L. Wright 2). Blocks: 2 (Frazee 2). Turnovers: 7. Fouls: 20. Fouled out: Frazee (OT, 0:33).

GREEN (12-11): Gabe Blevins 1 2 3-4 11, Jon Knapp 7 4 6-6 32, Riddick Jenkins 5 0 6-6 16, Brennan Rennison 0 2 2-2 8, Noah McMackin 1 0 0-0 2, Kase McIntyre 0 1 1-2 4, Jacob Sampson 1 0 0-0 2, Uriah Satterfield 2 0 0-0 4. Totals: 17 9 18-20. Rebounds: 25 (Knapp 9, Jenkins 3, McIntyre 3, Satterfield 3). Assists: 8 (McMackin 3, Knapp 2, Satterfield 2). Steals: 3 (Knapp 2, McMackin). Blocks: None. Fouls: 12. Fouled out: Blevins (OT, 1:24).