Greeley Boys Crush Yorktown in Basketball Playoffs

The message coming into the game was made quite clear for Horace Greeley's boys basketball team by coach Dave Fernandes: revenge.

Revenge for a two-point loss against Yorktown the last time these two teams met. Greeley got its revenge as the Quakers rolled on to a dominating 69-46 win over the visiting Huskers in yesterday's Class AA first-round game.

With the win, Greeley advanced to the quarterfinals this Tuesday and will play at Mount Vernon at 6:30 p.m.

The big factor for Greeley was its inside play. Junior forward Matt Townsend was phenomenal in the paint. He dominated on defense, found open teammates on the double teams when he had the ball and even came up with offensive rebounds when the ball didn't find him. In total, Townsend had 28 points and nine rebounds in front of the packed home crowd.

"It was big getting the win today since we lost to them by two earlier in the season," Townsend said. "I was just trying to do my part inside and get rebounds and easy shots inside. Even after halftime we came out and kept it going and never had a letdown in the second half."

The Quakers went into the half up 36-21 and extended the lead to 32 points during the second half. Their defense was crisp and didn't give the Yorktown many second chance opportunities.

Their only real bright spot for Yorktown was junior guard Jordan Moody who ended with a team-high 18 points. No other Yorktown player scored in double digits and Horace Greeley's 22-8 third quarter put the game away.

"We have been playing really well the last seven or eight games and once again defense was the key," Fernandes said. "The guys understood what the motivation was and what was at stake and they responded. Even at the half I told them that we only won two quarters and now it's 0-0 and they never let up."

Senior guard Adam Honig got into early foul trouble but still managed to score 10 points without forcing or pressing to score. He did a good job of staying poised and still looking for his teammates. Justin Cicero and Harrison Brown were key sparks off the bench and starters Teddy Graves and Billy Sadik-Khan combined to score 16 points.

Now with the win behind them, the focus immediately shifts to the tall order ahead: Mount Vernon.

"They are a great team and a great franchise," said Fernandes. "They have six loses but those aren't any old six losses. I'm confident in our guys and I know they will be ready to play come Tuesday so it should be a great game."