Lions hold off Pirates

With the Pirates trailing 3A-3 Conference champion Manila by one with 8.2 seconds left in overtime, Gosnell’s Brett Barbaree snatched the defensive rebound on missed free throw and pushed it ahead to Cadarius Young who sprinted upcourt.

Young handed off to sharpshooter Cody Keene who fired a pass to an open Brayden Burcham in the left corner. However, Burcham couldn’t get the shot off in time and Manila hung on for the 55-54 overtime win.

The end of regulation was just as dramatic as Gosnell’s Jaquon Partee putback teammate Jydarian Young’s missed shot in front of the basket to tie the game, 44-44, with about four seconds left. A Manila half-court heave missed the mark and the capacity crowd erupted.

Gosnell had trailed by six with 30 seconds left in regulation, before a Barbaree stickback and Jy Young coast-to-coast layup sliced the advantage to 44-42 with 8.1 seconds left in the fourth. Then, Gosnell forced a five second call on the inbounds, setting up the tying bucket.

Manila (21-4, 15-1 3A-3) raced to a 51-44 lead in overtime, after Ty Wagner’s old-fashion three-point play with 2:09 showing.

Gosnell (12-9, 9-6 3A-3) rallied again, attacking the glass. Barbaree putback a miss and was fouled. Though he missed the free throw, Keene swiped a steal and scored to get Gosnell within 51-48 with 1:26 left. Manila’s Brock Birmingham, who had a game-high 25, fouled out on the play. Keene couldn’t connect on the free throw, but Barbaree grabbed the rebound and was fouled. He hit one of two, but the Pirates grabbed another offensive board that led to Wagner fouling out with 1:22 left in overtime. Cadarius Young sank both free throws to tie the game 51-51.

Manila’s Daley Belew answered with a bucket to give the lead back to the Lions just seconds later, but Gosnell’s Jordan Lewis countered with a three-pointer to put the Pirates ahead, 54-53, with just 35.8 remaining on the clock.

On the other end, however, Lewis picked up his fifth foul and had to exit the game. Belew knocked down both free throws to give the Lions the lead once more, 55-54.

Gosnell had a chance to tie or take the lead on the ensuing possession as Partee was fouled with 12.4 seconds to go. Partee misfired on both attempts to keep it a one-point game. Gosnell sent Trenton Thomas to the line with 8.2 seconds left, setting up the dramatic finish.

Neither team ever led by more than six points in the back-and-forth game. Manila’s Abraham Lopez drilled a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Lions a 14-8 lead going into the second quarter.

Gosnell took a 21-19 lead into halftime after Burcham banked in his third three-pointer of the first half and Lewis scored on a baseline drive in the closing moments.

The Pirates went on a run in the third period to lead by six midway through the quarter. Gosnell was up 31-29 going into the final period.

Lewis led Gosnell with 12 points, while Burcham scored nine and Keene eight. The Pirates struggled at the line on the night, going 5 for 14 at the charity stripe.

Behind Birmingham, Belew scored 13 and Wagner 12 for the Lions. Manila has locked up the top spot in the league, while Gosnell is currently in fourth place in the standings.

In the junior high game, Gosnell prevailed, 45-35. TJ Reed led Gosnell with 18 points, while Trevelle Anderson had a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds. Daniel Sullivan also chipped in 12 points for the Junior Pirates. Dylan Riley led the Junior Lions with nine points.