Wolfpack earns right to boast
Saturday night was a time for celebration at Greenbrier High School.
First, prior to the boys basketball game between Evans and Greenbrier, Wolfpack head coach Danny Black was honored before coaching his final home game at the Brierpatch.
During the pre-game ceremony, Greenbrier principal Gloria Hamilton announced that Black's college jersey No. 12 will be retired at Greenbrier.
Black's team evidently was motivated, as the Pack took control late in the first quarter and cruised to an easy 44-32 win over Evans.
The victory capped Greenbrier's regular season and also earned local bragging rights for the Pack - Greenbrier claimed a title at the Columbia County Christmas Tournament, and the win Saturday gave Greenbrier two wins in its three meetings with the Knights.
When the Wolfpack and Knights last met this season, Evans needed three overtimes to take a 95-90 win, and Saturday's rematch couldn't match that thriller - Greenbrier's tight defense, though, stole the show.
Greenbrier held Evans' top scoring threat, John Harris, to one 3-point goal, and that was on a miracle bank shot off the glass.
Richard Burke, Tommy McKinney and Eric Marshall each scored 11 points to pace the Pack.
Next up for Greenbrier is the Region 3-AAAA tournament at Glenn Hills High School. The Pack opens play Thursday with a first-round game against Butler. Greenbrier is the region's No. 7 seed, while Butler is the No. 2 seed.
A No. 2 vs. No. 7 sounds like a mismatch, but Greenbrier already has knocked off No. 1 seed Statesboro, plus the Pack is one a four-game win streak.
If the Wolfpack can get past the Bulldogs, Greenbrier would earn its first-ever trip to the Class AAAA state playoffs.
Rigdon catches fire
In other action Saturday at the Brierpatch, Lady Wolfpack sophomore Amy Rigdon set a school record by hitting eight 3-point shots during Greenbrier's 66-36 win over Evans.
"When she gets set, she can really shoot," Lady Pack coach Garrett Black said of his wing player. "When she hit a couple, I just told them to keep feeding her the ball."
Along with the school record, Rigdon scored a career-high 26 points.
With the Greenbrier girls losing four starters to graduation next season, Rigdon will be counted on heavily during her junior campaign.
Bright spots for the Lady Knights were Kiley Smith, Christy Steflik and Becka Gibbs.
Senior point guard Smith scored 10 points; Steflik, a junior post player, performed well in the second half and finished with 10 points; and Gibbs showed a lot of grit and hustle, particularly for a freshman.