Pirates upend EPC by double digits in Colt Classic

LUXORA – After back-to-back conference losses entering the Colt Classic, the Gosnell Pirates righted their ship with a 67-50 win over East Poinsett County Friday in the Warren Barbee Colt Classic at Luxora.

Reeling from 29- and 35-point defeats to Rivercrest and Corning, Gosnell (4-3) gained the lead late in the first quarter against EPC and never relinquished it.

A Marcus Anderson drive to the basket and subsequent hoop gave the Pirates the 15-12 lead and the speedster followed it with a steal and fastbreak bucket to extend the advantage to 17-12 at the end of the opening period of play.

Parker Wells (12) snaps a pass to teammate Marcus Anderson during early action against EPC. Wells exited the game midway through the second quarter with an ankle injury he sustained on a fastbreak basket.

Anderson scored his third straight bucket as the second quarter opened off an assist from Vanterrues Lucas. The sophomore scored four more in the frame as Gosnell extended its lead to 13 points over EPC (4-3) as the teams entered the locker room.

The Pirates led by as many as 16 in the quarter when Cam Williams worked in the paint for a pair but Tyrus Reel answered with a basket to close the gap to 12 with less than a minute to play in the frame.

Rylan Jenkins, who scored 16 points for the Pirates, closed the quarter hitting one of two free throws to set the score at 53-38 entering the final period.

EPC came no closer the rest of the way as the lead swelled to as many as 20 points when Jenkins drove to the basket for two. He then followed an EPC turnover with an assist to Kerrion Terry for the Pirates final bucket.

Ball security was pivotal in the game as the teams combined for 18 unforced errors, while EPC had nine steals and Gosnell eight.

Anderson led all scorers with 22 points and was joined in double figures by Jenkins and Williams who had 10 points.

Reel paced the Warriors with 13, while Jacob Gaines and Landon Nichols each had 10 points.

Gosnell was 25-of-56 from the field as EPC posted a 23-of-61 performance on field goals. The difference in the game could be traced to the free throw line where Gosnell scored 14 points from the charity stripe and EPC just hitting 1-of-4 of its attempts.