One Northside senior who wasn’t part of the Grizzlies’ 6A state title win last season against Bryant was Garrett Keller.

He sat out all of last season before returning to play for the Grizzlies.

On Friday, with the Grizzlies in dire straits to start the second half in the rematch with Bryant in both teams 6A-Central opener, Keller came through at the right time.

Keller scored all 10 of his points in the second half, helping the Grizzlies rally from eight points down in the third quarter. His basket with more than three minutes left to play broke a 48-all tie score and started a game-ending 12-2 run as Northside beat Bryant, 60-50, at Kaundart-Grizzly Fieldhouse.

“Whenever a team focuses on Jaylin (Williams), it opens it up for everybody else and makes it so easy to score, so I just found my opportunities and took them,” Keller said.

“I’ve been waiting for a long time to get back out on the court and (Friday) was what I had been looking for.”

Northside (11-4, 1-0), which also picked up its ninth consecutive win, trailed 39-31 after Bryant began the second half on a 16-7 run.

But Keller helped keep the Grizzlies afloat with a pair of big third-quarter baskets, including receiving a no-look backdoor pass down low from Williams for the finish to cut the Hornets’ lead to two, 44-42.
