Pirates claim Bulldog Classic title

STEELE, Mo.--WIth 1:51 left in the first period Friday night, the Gosnell Pirates trailed the host South Pemiscot Bulldogs, 18-4. Gosnell also found itself in serious foul trouble with starters Tre Howe, Richard Razer and Tevin Real all with two fouls with over three periods still to play. However, over the next nine minutes of action, the Pirates turned that 14-point deficit into a 12-point lead and led, 38-26, by halftime on their way to a convincing, 69-55 win in the championship game of the South Pemiscot Bulldog Classic Tournament.

"I just think they (South Pemiscot) came out ready to play and we didn't," said Pirate head coach Kirk Glintborg. "We looked soft on defense and weren't playing hard and they were just charged up and ready to play."

Especially charged was Bulldog guard Jacob Trammel. Trammel hit three three- pointers in the period as South Pemiscot led, 18-8 at the end of the first.

Gosnell (4-2, 0-2 3-4A) went to their half court trap on defense in the second period. The Pirates forced six turnovers in the period and outscored the Bulldogs, 30-8. It was the second game in a row where the Pirates scored 30 points in the second period.

"We started with our little trap in the second period," said Glintborg. "I think that just picked everybody up and it got them out of rhythm. It also got us into the transition game. We want to get into transition as much as we can."

The Pirates struggled early, hitting just two of their first 10 attempts, but they got a huge lift on the offensive boards from Razer.

Razer scored 16 of his game-high 23 points in the first half with 12 of them coming in the second period, including the Pirates first eight points. His three-pointer from the corner with five and a half to play in the half cut the Bulldog lead to 23-16. However, it was his play inside that kept the Pirates within striking distance before the offense heated up. Razer scored 10 of his 12 points off of offensive rebounds. The senior forward grabbed 11 rebounds in the first half and 19 overall for the game on his way to his third straight double-double in the tournament.

"Richard (Razer) kept us in the game early," said Glintborg. "He got a lot of tips. He got a lot of put backs. He rebounded the ball and was staying after it. He really played his tail off tonight."

While Razer kept the Pirates in the game, it was just a matter of time before the rest of the Pirates joined in. Howe, after only two points in the first period, also scored 12 in the second including a 45 second stretch midway through the period where he scored seven straight points and gave Gosnell their first lead of the game at 25-24 with 2:45 to play. The senior point guard had another big night scoring 22 points with eight assists and six steals. Gosnell scored the last 10 points of the first half, including Terrance Anderson's layup off of his own steal at the buzzer, and ever trailed again.

"Defensivley, once we started trapping, I thought we got effort from everybody," said Glintborg. "It wasn't just one or two players, it was all five of them on the floor. Will (Rose) was stepping into the passing lanes and Tevin (Real) is always in the passing lanes."

South Pemiscot cut the lead to seven to begin the third period before Gosnell ended the third on a 16-6 run. Anderson's (15 points) layup with 2:50 to play in the period gave Gosnell a 48-36 lead as they led by double-digits for the rest of the game and 55-39 heading into the fourth.

After losing two conference games heading into the Bulldog Classic, the win gives Gosnell plenty of momentum heading into the Gerald Jennings Tournament beginning next week at East Poinsett County.

"We're at that point where we've played enough games and seen different things," said Glintborg. "Defensively, we've tried more pressing and we've tried more trapping. I think we're finding our niche. Sometimes it takes a while. What's impressed me the most is the way we're attacking the glass. Those second chance points are huge for us."

The Pirates begin play in the Jennings Tournamen Tuesday night. They take on the Manila Lions at 7:30 p.m.