ELLSINORE -- Without its leading rebounder, East Carter still dominated the boards.
The Redbirds finished with 18 offensive rebounds, including three off missed free throws in the second half, to pull away from Greenville and win 75-57 Monday for its first Ozark Foothills Conference win of the season.
"We got man-handled on the boards. They were really physical and we didn't block out. They were a lot more aggressive than we were," Greenville coach Nathan Walk said.
Lane Chilton, who was out with the flu, is averaging about 14 rebounds per game for East Carter.
"I really challenged the guys in the locker room. I said, 'Guys, if we don't rebound without Lane, we are going to struggle to score.' He gives us a lot of easy opportunities under the basket," East Carter coach Jordan Penn said. "The guys showed up and they finally went and rebounded."
Cody Hampton and Conner Powell each finished with 12 total rebounds for East Carter (6-10, 1-4 OFC). Powell also had six offensive rebounds while Hampton had three. Dalton Rudd added four offensive rebounds.
Rudd and Powell ultimately led East Carter in scoring with 25 and 17 points, respectively.
East Carter led by two at halftime and was up by three with three minutes left in the third quarter when Rudd sank a 3 and was fouled on the shot.
He missed the free throw for the four-point play, but Hampton grabbed the rebound and was fouled on the putback.
He made both free throws, putting the Redbirds up by eight, and the next trip down the court Rudd went back to the foul line. He missed both free throws, but again East Carter grabbed the offensive rebound.
"We shoot a lot of free throws to improve our percentage because our offensive style is to attack, so we know we are going to shoot a lot," Penn said. "I really feel like that is a strength for us, to go at the offensive glass on free throws. It gave us a bunch of extra chances."
East Carter turned it over trying for the second-chance points, but managed to take it right back and Levi Boyer scored to give the Redbirds the first double-digit lead of the game.
"We had a couple eight point leads and we let them back in it. Coming out of halftime, I said that's when we need to put our foot to the gas and go. The kids did that and they attacked all the time," Penn said.
Brett O'Dell and Powell added buckets late to give East Carter an 11-1 run and a 13 point lead to close the third quarter.
Greenville (5-8, 0-2 OFC) tried pressing in the fourth quarter, but a composed East Carter squad picked it apart for easy buckets.
"I told the kids in the locker room, a couple of times when they broke the press I was like a kid in a candy store on the sideline. I was excited," Penn said. "Normally we are dribble, dribble, dribble. Tonight we had multiple times where the ball didn't hit the floor. We passed to the open guy and the press didn't affect us. Normally we are a team that gets rattled but the last couple of games we have been composed and under control. It is fun to watch when they do that."
Greenville didn't get closer than eight points in the fourth quarter and East Carter closed the game with a 10-3 run.
Tye Huff led Greenville with 16 points. Trevor Willard added 11.
The Bears had 37 points in the first half and 20 in the second.
Greenville led just once in the second quarter. After falling behind early, Clay Burchard sank a 3 early in the second quarter to get the Bears within a point. A minute later, Damion Burkett scored to give Greenville its first and only lead.
"We shook some rust off. That was our first game in 10 days or so," Penn said. "Second quarter we tightened things up, started getting the ball in the paint and were knocking down shots from the outside also in the second quarter."
A moment later, Rudd sank a 3 to take the lead back for good.
Huff and Burkett were handcuffed with foul trouble. Huff picked up two in the first quarter and finished with four while Burkett was in foul trouble all game and fouled out early in the fourth.
"When your two starting guards are in foul trouble, it really dictates how the night goes," Walk said. "It was just one of those games where it wasn't our night."