BY MATTHEW CLARK
THE MORNING SUN
GIRARD — It turned out to be a game that no one expected to be played the way it was.
Coming in, Galena — the preseason favorite to win the Crawford-Neosho-Cherokee League — was expected to run up and down the floor and give Girard fits.
Instead, the Trojan defense kept them in the game Tuesday night at the Ted R. Taylor Gymnasium. But, Galena senior Colton Leet poured in 11 of his game-high 21 in the fourth quarter to pace the Bulldogs to a 40-32 win.
“Not really what you expected was it?” Girard head coach Rod Wescott quipped after the game.
From the on-set, it appeared that the Bulldogs (1-0) would do just what everyone expected them to do after jumping out to a 15-2 lead into the second quarter.
But, towards the end of the first half, Girard (0-2) mounted an 8-0 run to close out the half down just 15-10.
Prior to the run, the Trojans went almost eight minutes without hitting a field goal.
After the halftime break, Galena opened up a 6-1 run to start to pull away, but the Trojans found their rebounding aggressiveness and held the Bulldogs without a board for the entire quarter.
“They played really good help defense,” Galena head coach Matt Meyr said. “They double-teamed our post as soon as he got the ball and it made it very tough for us to do anything down low.”
With a 6-point lead, Leet drew a technical foul that seemed to spark the Trojans. Logan Cherry made both technical free-throws, and he and Preston Samuels opened the final quarter with a pair of back-to-back 3-point goals to cut the Galena lead to just two, 27-25.
A jumper from Reid Murphy trimmed the lead to one just a minute later, but Leet caught fire and went on an 8-0 run himself to push that lead back to 39-28 with just under two minutes left.
Girard closed out the final two minutes of the game much like they started the game — hitting just two field goals.
“I was pleased with our effort,” Wescott said. “Defensively, we gave ourselves an opportunity.”
However, at the foul line, the Trojans were just 6 of 18 and they committed 20 turnovers to Galena’s 10.
“When you get the freebies, you have to find a way to make them count,” Wescott said.
Girard will return home on Friday to take on its second Southeast Kansas League opponent of the season when they host Chanute.

Girard girls 70-24
The Girard girls had four players in double-figures and used a non-stop, pressure defense to dispatch with Galena, 70-24.
The Trojans (2-0) opened up the first half outscoring the Bulldogs (0-1), 53-16 as their defense created 13 Galena turnovers.
“The girls went out and pretty much executed everything,” Girard head coach Brad Herlocker said.
The Bulldogs were without post Sam Ferguson, who broke her collarbone in an accident. That forced head coach Derik Hunt to utilize different personnel throughout the game and left Galena with virtually no inside presence.
“We were playing with a lot of new kids and chemistry was an issue,” Hunt said. “Ferguson being out forced us to do a lot of new things.”
Danica Kelly led the Trojans with 13 points as Carly Twarog added 12 and Tessa Westhoff had 11. Kylie Kunshek was the fourth Trojan in double-figures with 10.

Matthew Clark can be reached at matthew.clark@morningsun.net or at 620-231-2600, Ext, 140.

Girard girls 70, Galena 26
Galena     6   10    6   4 — 26
Girard        27  26   11  6 — 70
GIRARD (70) — Danica Kelly 6 1-2 13, Carly Twarog 5 1-1 12, Tessa Westhoff 4 3-4 11, Kylie Kunshek 5 0-0 10, Morgan Boore 2 0-0 6, Hadyn Herlocker 2 0-0 5, Carly Lallemand 2 0-0 4, Jordan Davied 2 0-0 4, Randi Pierce 1 0-0 3, Kenzie Dunlap 1 0-0 2. Totals: 30 5-7 70.
GALENA (26) — Jordyn Burris 3 1-2 9, Tina Smith 4 0-0 9, Kelsey New 3 1-1 7, Amanda Olmos 0 1-2 1, Katelin Gowens 0 0-2 0. Totals: 10 3-7 26.
3-point goals — Girard 5 (Boore 2), Galena 3 (Burris 2). Rebounds — Girard 30, Galena 19. Turnovers — Girard 12, Galena 21. Total fouls — Girard 7, Galena 9. Fouled out — none. Technical fouls — none.
Galena boys 40, Girard 32
Galena    10  5  10  15 — 40
Girard         2   8   9   13 — 32
GIRARD (32) — Logan Cherry 4 2-3 11, Reid Murphy 3 2-4 8, Preston Samuels 2 1-5 6, Gannon Bauer 2 1-6 5, Zack Foraker 1 0-0 2. Totals: 12 6-18 32.
GALENA (40) — Colton Leet 9 3-5 21, Troy Albright 3 3-6 9, Zac Gougler 2 1-2 5, Cody Clark 0 3-6 3, Dilan Lansford 1 0-0 2. Totals: 15 10-25 40.
3-point goals — Girard 2 (Samuels, Cherry), Galena 0. Rebounds — Girard 30, Galena 24. Turnovers — Girard 20, Galena 10. Total fouls — Girard 14, Galena 18. Fouled out — none. Technical fouls — Galena, Leet.