Greenville, N.C. - The French Lick Legends used a 16-3 run to close out the first half and held on to secure the win against G2, 43-30, in the season opener at the East Carolina Recreation Center in intramural action on Thursday night.
The Legends struggled from the floor in the early minutes and fell behind G2, 8-4, with 15 minutes left in the half.
"We started off slow early on and you could tell we didn't really start to play as a team until the middle part of the first half," said third year head coach Kyle Holliday.
"Any time you don't play a lot together, it takes a while to gel as a cohesive unit," said senior Brett Hickman. "I think the key to the game was when Holliday switched our defense from a zone to man-to-man"
At 13:30 mark, sophomore Matt Warnick drained a 3-pointer from the right wing, followed by a jumper from Stephen Bateese to take the first lead of the game since the contest's opening minute, 9-8. After Ian McLeod made 1-of-2 free throws, senior Ben Anderson collided with a G2 player and was able to tip the ball to Joseph Jordan for a lay up and force the opponent into a timeout with eight minutes left in the half.
Jordan sank a 3-pointer in the closing minute of the first stanza to give French Lick a commanding 20-11 lead heading into the locker room.
G2 shot just 23.5 percent (4-for-17) from the field in the first half and could not connect from beyond the arc on six attempts.
The second half belonged to Coach Hickman as he scored 10 of his team-high 12 points after halftime. After Garrison Cherry drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key, Hickman knocked down consecutive 3-pointers to give French Lick a 12-point advantage, 31-19.
"Any time you put the bread in the basket you gotta think about how you got the bread in the first place," said Hickman. "I think it is imperative to note that every basket that I made was a product of a great pass from a teammate. The selflessness of Warnick and Tant exudes what French Lick Legends basketball is all about."
McLeod and Hickman went a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe in the final two minutes to secure the win for the Legends, 43-30.
An intramural first occurred in the final minute of the game when a technical foul was called on a G2 player for vulgar language. The new ECU Intramural rules committee issued a new rule stating "on a technical foul the opposing team will be automatically awarded two points; no foul shots will be attempted." The 2-point basket was awarded to player-coach Kyle Holliday even though he did not play a single minute in the contest. It marks the first time ever recorded at East Carolina that a player scored a basket without playing in the game.
Hickman led the Legends with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field, including 2-of-5 from hail mary land. He added four assists and two steals.
Sophomore Joesph Jordan added eight points and six rebounds off the bench in the Dub-ya.
Battise, McLeod and Warnick all chipped in with five points a piece, while Robert Tant added four points. Warnick dished out four assists and collected two steals. McLeod and Tant each grabbed five boards.
The Legends will hold an open practice on Saturday, January 31 - the eve of Kurt Warner's domination - at the ECU Recreation Center at 11 a.m. All spectators and competitors are welcomed.
The next game for the hicks from French Lick is on Thursday, February 5 at 10 p.m.
GAME NOTES:
Kyle Holliday collected his eighth career victory ... "Doc" know owns an 8-7 record as intramural basketball head coach ... The Legends outscored the G2 20-11 in the first half and 23-19 in the second half ... Jordan, McLeod and Tant all collected at least five rebounds ... five players scored five points or more ... Cherry, Hickman, Chad Staradumsky, Tant and McLeod started ... team tallied 20 points off the bench ... French Lick shot 9-for-26 (34.6 percent) on two-point attempts ... 6-for-15 (40 percent) on 3-point attempts ... 8-for-14 (57.1 percent) from the foul line ... each team committed 11 turnovers ... Holliday is the first intramural player ever in the history of the world to score two points without stepping foot on the court ... Ben Anderson collected a team-high three floor burns ... Tant missed a wide open lay up by being rejected by the rim at the end of the game .
