Evans offense beats defense of Greenbrier

Tuesday night's rivalry contest between Evans and Greenbrier didn't count toward the region standings, but neither team underestimated the match-up.

Evans had already defeated Greenbrier twice this season and came into the game as the favorite with a high-powered offense averaging 67 points per game. However, the Wolfpack had upset top-10 ranked Wayne County earlier in the season with a strong defense, and entered the contest allowing an average of only 52.3 points per game.

In the end, offense beat defense as the Knights took a 50-48 win.

"It boiled down to the experience level," Dees said. "They've got three experienced guards, and we've got three who are still coming along. We're still in the learning process."

The Wolfpack was forced to learn the hard way at Evans after giving up a nine-point, first-half lead. As effective as the Greenbrier defense has been through the 2005-06 season, it was the Evans defense that controlled the game.

"I figured if I could stop Luther (Holmes) we could win," Evans junior Wes Wuchte said. "We're a very confident team, and we felt like we had control."

Wuchte and fellow forward Jonathan Nicely kept Holmes in check with only four first-half points. The Greenbrier senior was kept under his 14.7 points per game average as the Wolfpack offense was held to only eight points in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, Wuchte, who was battling pink eye, still managed to lead the Knights with a 12-point performance.

With a two-point win in a gym filled to capacity, Evans coach Kevin Kenny said the game was an ideal environment to prepare for the postseason.

"You want close games because that gets you ready for the region tournament," Kenny said. "If we win our final two games, we're the No. 1 seed."

The outlook is bright for the Knights as they near postseason play. Evans entered the weekend near the top of the region standings with a 4-1 region record.

Immediately before the Knights win, the Greenbrier girls continued their near-flawless season with a 46-28 win over Evans.

Junior point guard Michelle Swiec's 21 points led all scoring in a game that saw the Lady Wolfpack shoot 4-of-22 from the 3-point line.

"We wanted to shoot every opportunity we got. Unfortunately, we had a bad shooting night," Greenbrier coach Garrett Black said. "We have to compensate somehow for our lack of size, and we do that with our quickness and shooting."

Despite the poor shooting, the Lady Wolfpack took a 29-14 halftime lead. Evans shot only 2-of-16 from the free throw line to give Greenbrier their 21st win of the season.

Evans center Lauren Middleton led the Lady Knights with 13 points.

Both schools will take Tuesday night off and return for home region games on Friday night. Greenbrier will play host to Statesboro, while Evans will take on Wayne County.