PREP BOYS HOOPS: Gallatin County wins first GEC title since 2004
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ Gallatin County hoisted the Greater Egyptian Conference trophy for the first time since 2004 and it may have came with a feeling of relief rather than excitement.
Gallatin County got 10 points from Andrew Drone in the fourth quarter, helping the Hawks overcome a dismal shooting night to beat Crab Orchard 52-50 in the championship of the GEC Tournament Saturday night.
Drone finished with 20 points on night when the Hawks went 20-of-41 from the field, but were a solid 8-of-12 from the foul stripe in the fourth quarter.
"We just couldn't put the ball in the hole early and we kind of settled down a little bit in the second half and started going down low to our bread and butter in Drone," Gallatin County head coach Robert Patton said. "But give Bryant Aud credit, he hit three or four big shots in that game."
Aud finished with 13, including seven points in the second quarter that helped Gallatin County climb out of a 11-7 first quarter hole.
The Hawks didn't get their first bucket of the game until 3:20 left to play in the first and trailed 20-18 at halftime despite outscoring Crab Orchard 11-9.
Gallatin County used a 7-0 run to open the third quarter and led 25-20 after the Trojans missed their first seven shots of the third period, but Crab Orchard used just enough offense to hold a 30-27 lead going into the game's final eight minutes of action.
Unfortunately for Crab Orchard, that offense ran out in the fourth quarter as they went 6-of-15 from the floor.
Patrick Lowe chipped in with seven points for Gallatin County, while Mitchell Ramsey and Dane Hish each finished with five points.
Drew Johnson and Ben Kissing combined for 36 points for the Trojans.
It was the first win for the Hawks after two prior losses to Crab Orchard. It was also a win that Patton feels gets that proverbial monkey off his team's back.
"The kids wanted this year, they have heard all about it, read all about it and they're an outstanding ball club, one of the best we play. They're deserving of their wins, but we deserved this one."
Hardin County 43, Carrier Mills 41
In the third place game, Hardin County's Kyle Holloman came away with a late-game steal, which led to his own layup as the Cougars came back to beat Carrier Mills 43-41
Tony Parkinson had a game-high 20 points for Hardin County, while Holloman finished in double figures with 11 points. Joe McClenahan had seven points, while Darrien Robinson tacked on three points and Garrett Hayes had two points.
The Wildcats were led by 13 points from Gabe Morgan, while Josh Bailey had nine points. Cameron Taborn added eight points and Collin Crim chipped in with six points. Dalton Stucker finished with four points and Jordan Walker had a free throw.