Gosnell falls to Pocahontas

GOSNELL--The Gosnell Pirates stumbled for the first time since December Friday night. Winners of eight in a row and 18 out of their last 19, the second place Pirates saw their lead in the standings get cut to a game after the Pocahontas Redskins upset the Pirates, 76-60, at the Gosnell Physical Education Center.

The Gosnell (19-4, 9-4 3-4A) loss brought the third place Redskins within a game of the Pirates at 8-5 in the conference with one game to play.

While the game was played at Gosnell, the foul advantage that the Redskins enjoyed gave the impression that this was a road game for the Pirates. Pocahontas shot 33 foul shots compared to just 15 for the Pirates. In the first half, Gosnell committed 13 fouls to just four for the Redskins who are known for a hard-nose style of play. Already down one player with leading scorer Tre Howe sidelined with an ankle injury, head coach Kirk Glintborg had to find more answers as starting center Will Rose was whistled for four fouls in the first half and eventually fouled out midway through the second half. Back-up big man Allen Montezuma played in foul trouble all night and, like Rose, eventually fouled out early in the fourth. Rose's fifth foul was double-costly. Rose got into an altercation with one of the Pocahontas players that led to some pushing and shoving; starting guard Tevin Real, who was on the bench at the time, was ejected for stepping onto the court. Real's ejection means that he will not be allowed to play in the Pirates' regular season finale against Trumann Tuesday.

Despite perceived disadvantages with the whistle, Glintborg found plenty of other reasons for the loss.

"They (Pocahontas) were driving to the basket and we were taking jump shots," said Glintborg. "Bottom line is, when you drive to the basket, you're going to get calls. They may have gotten some calls, but they hit the shots as well," he said. "It's one thing to get calls but you have to execute and they did that tonight."

The Redskins hit 26 of their 33 foul shot attempts including 9-10 down the stretch in the fourth period as the Pirates tried to make a run.

Glintborg didn't use being without the injured Howe as an excuse either.

"We weren't real aggressive getting to the basket," he said. "We were settling for jump shots and not getting second chances. They were shooting layups and we can't get out in transition. If they're scoring a lot of points, that means we're not getting out in transition."

Settling for jumps shots meant a lower shooting percentage for Gosnell as well. The Pirates shot just 32 percent in the first half (9-28) as the Redskins built their lead.

Gosnell led 10-7 with three and a half minutes left in the first period before the Redskins put together a 12-2 run that stretched into the second period. A key moment in the game came with just over four to play in the half. Trailing 21-16, the Pirates got out in transition for one of the few times in the game. Rose went swept to the basket, laid the ball in and appeared to be fouled on the play setting up a three point play but Rose was whistled for charging instead. That set off a a 9-0 run for the Redskins capped off by a three-pointer from the Redskins' Jacob Futtrell with 3:10 to play in the half. From Rose's foul, Pocahontas outscored the Pirates, 17-6 and took a 38-22 lead into halftime.

Pocahontas extended their lead to 24 in the third period. Futtrell nailed another three with two minutes to play in the third to give the Redskins a 55-31 lead and they took a 59-39 lead into the final frame.

"They (Pocahontas) did whatever they wanted to all night," said Glintborg. "They handled our pressure well. No matter what we did to change things up, they responded and had an answer. We played hard but they just got us out of position. It was just a tough night."

The Pirates tried to make a game of it in the fourth. A 10-3 run midway through the period cut the Redskin lead to 13 but the Pirates could get no closer.

"We just wanted to go down playing as hard as we could," Glintborg said of the Pirates' run in the fourth. "But we'd score and they'd score. It was pretty much the same thing all night."

For the game, Razor led the Pirates with 20 points and 11 rebounds and Rod Jones scored 18 with three assists.

Futtrell led the Redskins with 20 and Jackson Coats and P.K. Kirk each scored 17 points a piece.

The Pirates take on the Trumann Wildcats in the 3-4A regular season finale. A win would secure the second seed and a first round bye in the district tournament as well as an automatic spot in the regional tournament

JUNIOR HIGH

Pocahontas 43, Gosnell 33
 The Gosnell Junior Pirates lost to the Pocahontas Junior Redskins, 43-33.

Gosnell led 8-3 after one, trailed 15-13 at halftime and 27-19 heading into the fourth. Gosnell begins the 3-4A junior district tournament Monday, Jan. 4 at Trumann.