Rebels grab big road win

What started out as a promising week for Owen County ended in disappointment.
The Rebels began last week with a tough, hard-fought win at Gallatin County before closing out the week with a loss at Henry County Friday.
The team headed into the game at Gallatin County looking to erase a pair of losing streaks. The Wildcats were riding a three-game winning streak over the Rebels and Owen County had not won in Warsaw since December 2006.
Owen County ended both streaks with a 57-53 victory.
After trailing 24-17 at the end of the first quarter, the Rebels stepped up the defense in the second quarter. They held the Wildcats to just seven points in the second quarter to trim the deficit to 31-27 at the half.
The Rebels continued the solid play in the second half and kept chipping away at the Wildcats’ advantage.
In the third quarter, Owen County again outscored Gallatin County, but the Rebels still found themselves trailing as they headed into the fourth quarter.
Again the Rebels made a stand on defense, allowing just seven points over the final eight minutes to pick up the win.
Junior Stone Osborne had a big night as he led all scorers with 24 points.
He connected on 11 of 16 shots for the game including two of four from three-point range. He also grabbed seven rebounds.
Another junior, Sawyer Williams, added 16 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Zach Ripy finished the night with seven points while Justin Shelton made all three shots he attempted to finish with six points. Jarrod Ball had four points.
The team traveled to New Castle Friday in search of its third district victory as they took on Henry County.
Owen County led after the first quarter, but the good feelings did not last as the Wildcats outscored the Rebels in each of the final three quarters and sent Owen County home with a 56-42 loss.
Despite placing three players in double figures, the Rebels managed to make just 4 of 16 shots from 3-point range.
Ball led the team with 13 points, including three of the four three-pointers. Ripy and Williams each finished the night with 12 points. Osborne cooled off after his big night against Gallatin County and scored just five points.
The Rebels will go into the break with a 5-2 overall mark  with a  56-48 win over Walton-Verona Monday night and a 2-1 record in district action.
After Christmas the team will travel to Richmond to take part in the Shirley Kearns Invitational at Model High School beginning Dec. 28. The team is scheduled to face Clinton County, Whitefield Academy and Williamsburg.