Rising Sun senior Ethan Greene said he simply wanted to do his part. He accomplished that and then some. Greene poured in 37 points – including 29 in the second half – to propel the Tigers to a 69-60 victory over visiting Harford Christian Monday night, December 11. It was Rising Sun's first win after lopsided losses in its previous two games.
"It feels nice. The kids played well," Rising Sun coach John Walker said. "I was proud of them." After Harford Christian tallied the first five points of the fourth quarter to go ahead 49-44, Greene and the Tigers took over. Trey Walker hit a free throw and Kenny Dollenger had a steal and layup to start the decisive 14-2 spurt. After Greene tied the game, Mike Fox drilled a three-pointer to put Rising Sun in front for good. Greene hit nine free throws in the last four minutes to help seal the deal and finished with 17 points in the quarter. "He's our captain and he's our leader," Walker said of Greene. "So we expect him to step up in big moments and he did a really good job." It wasn't entirely a one-man show. Greene tallied two points in the second quarter, but the Tigers till managed to score 18 points to take a 27-26 halftime lead. "We had a lot of juniors step up and hit some big shots and take the ball to the hole," Walker said. "It was a good, combined team effort. Ethan had a lot of points at the end, but overall the team played well." Greene converted two conventional three-point plays to give Rising Sun a 33-32 lead early in the third quarter. "We needed to just step it up a notch because one point isn't a lead you can hold," Greene said. "So we just tried to get more and more, tried to get the win." Harford Christian led 44-39 before Rising Sun reeled off five consecutive points to tie the game heading into the fourth quarter. Greene made four free throws to end the period. "We work as a team," said Greene. "They get me the ball and I try to help, do my part." Greene has excelled in his new role as the Tigers' top scoring threat after spending the last two years as primarily contributing in other capacities. "I think the two previous years on varsity really helped me out," Greene said. "I played with a lot of good guys and I've seen what they've done. I take aspects of their game and try to put it into mine. It helps me out." He feeds off the crowd and is a fan favorite in part because of his total of three dunks in the last two contests. "That's a big part of it," Greene said. "We have a big student section out here. It means everything." Walker was impressed with the way his team performed down the stretch. "We practice situations all the time and one of those is the last couple minutes of the game. You're up some. You're down some," Walker said. "The kids responded pretty well. I was confident in them. It's about winning a game and I was proud of them." Greene collected nine rebounds and seven steals to go along with the 37 points. Fox had 14 points. Trey Walker supplied six points, four assists, and two steals. Dollenger recorded seven points, two steals, and two assists. Greene said the win was a confidence boost for his squad. "It's great," he said. "We started off 0-2. I didn't really know what to expect out of this season with two returning varsity players but I think it's one of many." Comments are closed.
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