Rivercrest pulls away from rival Gosnell

The Gosnell Pirates (3-7, 2-6) fell to the Rivercrest Colts (5-4, 4-2) 81-59 on Jan. 15 at the Gosnell Physical Education Building.

Despite the final score, the two teams battled back and forth for much of the night. After exchanging baskets throughout the opening quarter, the Colts were able create a five-point edge going into the second quarter.

Midway through the frame, Rivercrest extended their lead into double-digits by attacking the rim and drawing contact. Their attacking offense led to 15 free throw attempts in the second as the Colts looked to take control of the game.

However, despite their foul trouble, the Pirates were able to stay in range and continue carving into the Rivercrest lead. At halftime, the Pirates’ deficit was back at five with the Colts ahead 31-26.

Gosnell started the third with a surge of energy as TJ Reed was able to score through a foul and spark the Pirate offense. After another Rivercrest run, Gosnell was able to claw back yet again and eventually cut their lead down to 2.

From there, Rivercrest turned up the heat defensively, forcing two turnovers and converting them both into fast break layups.

Late in the third, Rivercrest’s Clay Burks and Gosnell’s Daniel Sullivan exchanged consecutive three-pointers as the game’s momentum continued to shift back and forth. The quarter ended with the Colts still maintaining their five-point lead at 54-49.

Midway through the forth, the turnover bug continued to bite the Pirates as Rivercrest’s defense remained a main key to their offense.

Gosnell took a timeout to slow the Colts’ surge, but Rivrecrest was able to keep their foot on the gas, create more turnovers and score on the fast break, leading to their eventual win.

Burks led the Colts with a game-high 22 points followed by 19 from Alex Askew and 15 from Kam Turner.

Sullivan finished as the leading scorer for the Pirates with 19 points as Tedarian Partee added 11. Gosnell’s next contest will come Jan 19 as they travel for a matchup with Piggott.