The Greenbrier’s boys basketball team had a lot going against it Friday night.
Playing one day after allowing 28 first-quarter points in a road loss to Cheatham County, the Bobcats got out to a rough start against Springfield when starting post player Nolan Carson picked up two early fouls.
Then leading scorer Jayce Mangrum went down, injuring his side on a charge call late in the first quarter.
Despite losing two of their top players for a majority of the first half, Greenbrier’s depth picked up the pieces for an eventual 48-32 win over its cross-county rival.
“It was great to see their resiliency,” Bobcats coach Kenton Coleman said. “They could have folded for today and been down in the dumps, but their energy was amazing. They were all rallying around each other. It was great to see, especially moving forward in trying to build as the season progresses.”
Both Carson and Mangrum returned in the third quarter as Greenbrier (6-3) started to pull away.
Bryce Hutcherson, Tyler Grimes and Nate Castleman combined for four 3-pointers before halftime to keep the ‘Cats tied with Springfield at 19-19. Greenbrier outscored the Yellow Jackets 19-2 in the third quarter to take a comfortable lead.
Missing two starters for the first half could have tilted the advantage to Springfield, but Coleman said he had faith in his team’s depth. Six different players outside of Carson and Mangrum have finished in double figures this season, including Hutcherson, who broke out for 22 points at Sycamore in November.
Seven different players scored five or more for Greenbrier on Friday, led by Mangrum’s 10 and Carson’s 7.
“We always knew we had a lot of depth,” Coleman said. “We talk about that in practice, and we’ve got numerous guys who can score.
“We’ve got a lot of guys that can contribute, and we saw that.”
Deep scoring teams are nothing new to the Bobcats. Offensive balance was one of their biggest strengths in last year’s 25-win season.
But Coleman called this roster more dispersed than 2021’s, which featured college athletes in Bryson Merrill (Centre College, basketball) and Derek Taylor (Tennessee, football).
“They kind of established themselves pretty early that they were the guys who needed to be out there,” he said. “This team, going against guys like that last year and each other, it’s a pretty even group.”
While Greenbrier continued to find an offensive rhythm with its players, Springfield struggled for the fourth straight game. The Jackets (2-4) made just one field goal through the first 12 minutes of the second half and failed to eclipse 40 points for the third time this season.
“We’ve been harping on this since I got here: stop turning the ball over and make your free throws,” said first-year Springfield coach Terrance Williams. “It’s that simple.”
Williams said Springfield has shot 60% from the free throw line as a team and has averaged 20 turnovers during its four-game losing streak.
Greenbrier, meanwhile, stayed hot with Friday’s victory. Even with the loss to Cheatham County, the Bobcats have won five of their last six games.
Both teams return to action Tuesday, when Greenbrier hosts Sycamore and Springfield ends its four-game road trip with a home match against Station Camp.
BOX SCORE
Greenbrier (48): Jayce Mangrum 10, Nolan Carson 7, Bryce Hutcherson 6, Will Osborne 6, Wayne Phelps 6, Nate Castleman 5, DJ Jackson 5, Tyler Grimes 3.
Springfield (32): Travyion Binford 8, D’Quintonio Petties 7, Reggie Jules 6, Keimarian Flair 4, Seon Dowlen 3, Alarric Hudson 2, Que’shon Cromwell 2.
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