Wolfpack defy odds in victory

Greenbrier boys basketball coach Casey Dees had one thing to say about Friday's 39-36 region win over Wayne County.

"I've never seen anything like it." he said.

Very few, if any, Wolfpack fans had ever witnessed a Greenbrier win quite like the boys pulled off in their second region game of the season.

Almost every stat in the book pointed to what should have been a Greenbrier loss.

The Wolfpack hit only 17 shots from the field in the game, went 0-for-11 from the free-throw line and went the final six minutes of the game without scoring.

On top of that, Wayne County entered the game with an 8-4 record and was ranked No. 8 in the GaSports.com Coaches Poll.

Still, Dees was all smiles after the game as the Wolfpack escaped with their first region victory of the season.

"Nobody exploded, but it was all defense," Dees said after his team held Wayne County to their lowest point total of the season. "That was the best defensive effort we've had all year."

The Wolfpack fell behind 11-10 after the first quarter, but held the Yellow Jackets to only seven second-quarter points to take a 19-18 lead at halftime.

Greenbrier extended the advantage to 10 points entering the fourth quarter, but junior Anthony Williams' basket with 6:03 left gave the Wolfpack a 39-29 lead. It was the last time a Wolfpack would score in the game.

"The shots just weren't going down," Greenbrier senior Paul Jurek said. "It was a region game so we knew it was going to be big."

Jurek finished with a game-high 10 points, including a key first-half 3-pointer that gave the Wolfpack the lead for good.

For Dees, the win represented not only a region victory, but a signature win for a young team that entered the season with few expectations.

"We're 1-1 in the region now, and I don't want to get too confident," Dees said, "but Baldwin is one of the elite teams in the region."

The Lady Wolfpack picked up their second region win of the year with a 58-41 win over Wayne County despite a slow first-quarter start.

Playing in their first game of 2006, the Greenbrier girls hit only 2 of 12 from 3-point range in the first quarter but still built a 15-6 lead.

After shaking off the rust, the Greenbrier guards came alive. Junior point guard Michelle Swiec summed up the win in three words: "Tiff got hot."

Junior Tiffany Blackburn scorched the nets for five 3-pointers, including a long-distance 3 that sparked a 10-0 Greenbrier run in the third quarter.

"If they're going to give us the 3, we're going to take it," Greenbrier girls coach Garrett Black said. "They know they've got the green light."

With the win, the Lady Wolfpack improved to 15-1 overall and 2-0 in region play.

The Greenbrier boys and girls return to action Friday at Baldwin for a region match-up in Milledgeville, Ga.