HIGHLAND--Gosnell Pirate sophomore Carlos Blackman hit both ends of a one-and-one free throw situation with 6.1 seconds remaining in overtime to lift the Pirates to a 74-73 victory over the Valley View Blazers Tuesday night in the quarterfinals of the 3-4A district tournament.
Valley View led 23-12 at the end of one period and 36-34 at halftime. The Pirates took a 56-54 lead into the fourth before the two teams knotted things up at 68-68 at the end of regulation. A.J. Jones led the Pirates with 23 points on the night. Rod Jones added 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds, Will Rose scored 11 points and collected nine boards, Blackman added nine and Steven Smith scored eight including a big three-pointer late in overtime.
The win puts the Pirates in the semifinals at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday night against regular season champion, Brookland and gives them a spot in the regional tournament beginning next week at Clinton.