Griffon's late 3 lifts Mustangs over Dickinson

The Friendswood boys basketball team had to grind out a gritty 4th quarter for a victory over Galveston County rival Dickinson on Monday. 

From the Galveston Daily News' Jordan Godwin:

FRIENDSWOOD — Sniffling to keep blood from dripping onto his white Friendswood jersey, sophomore Lane Griffon gave the Mustangs exactly the clutch shot they needed.

Trailing 41-40 in a dogfight with the Dickinson Gators, Griffon drilled a 3-pointer that helped Friendswood finish off the 50-46 nondistrict victory Monday afternoon.

Griffon’s bloody nose was only an inkling of the scrappy dogfight between the Galveston County teams. A total of 47 fouls were called in a game that defined the toughness of both teams.

“This game will be like a callous for us down the road,” Dickinson coach Mike Tucker said of his 1-6 Gators team. “We’ll learn from it.”

For most of the game, it was a neck-in-neck bout between two teams trying to establish an identity in the early stage of the season. Through the first three quarters, the teams stayed within four points of each other. Friendswood (3-3) started to run away with it early in the fourth, but instead of fading like last year’s team might have, the Gators clawed their way back.

“That’s what we preach: ‘Gator fight never die,’” Tucker said.

After climbing back from seven points down in the fourth quarter, Dickinson senior Willie Mouton tipped a rebound in for a 41-40 lead. On the next play, Griffon hit the shot that gave Friendswood the two-point cushion needed to hold on.

“That shot was huge,” Friendswood coach Jeff Keener said. “I was impressed with the way our guys stayed disciplined in the end and held them off. (Friendswood senior) Colton Mick did some really great things for us today.”

Mick had six points and eight rebounds, but more importantly provided physical play in the post that became problematic for the Gators.

Quinton Mertz led Friendswood with 10 points. Will Hibbs had nine points and eight rebounds, and Griffon had eight points for the Mustangs.

For Dickinson, Anthony King had 16 points, Shelton Haywood and Jalen Farmer both had eight points, with Farmer adding seven rebounds. Mouton finished with seven, and Joseph Mozie had four.

“Our margin of error is very slim, but we’re going in the right direction,” Tucker said. “I was really proud of the guys today.”

Friendswood visits Dobie Wednesday afternoon, and Dickinson hosts Clear Falls on Nov. 29.