Gosnell hits enough FTs to pull upset

GOSNELL 57, BAPTIST PREP 53

CHARLESTON — Kirk Glintborg said the one drawback to Gosnell’s first-round game in the Class 3A boys state tournament was his team’s struggles with free throws.

But the Pirates did enough at the line to earn one more game this season.

Amarion Partee hit the second of a two-shot opportunity with 6.7 seconds remaining Tuesday night to help Gosnell achieve a 57-53 upset over Baptist Prep at the Tiger Center.

“I wish we would have hit more free throws down the stretch, but I’m proud of my guys,” Glintborg said. “That’s been our problem all year. You look at the games we have lost, and it’s because you look at the stat sheet and we’re below 50% from the line.

“We were 17 of 32 here, and that was a big difference in the game. I tell my kids all the time you have to make those free throws down the stretch.”

Gosnell (20-12) helped its cause by holding Baptist Prep (23-10) without a bucket for almost four minutes after Brooks Spoon’s bucket gave the Eagles a 45-41 lead with 5:13 remaining. The Pirates then went on a 10-1 run and took the lead for good as Travelle Anderson’s bucket made it 51-46 with 1:48 remaining.

Baptist Prep pulled within two on two occasions, with the last one being 55-53 after Ethan Clouser hit two free throws with 32.8 seconds remaining. Cooper Pieri hit one of two free throws with 29.7 seconds left to give Gosnell a three-point cushion, then Partee hit his clinching free throw after the Eagles missed their chance to tie the game with a three-pointer.

“Our defense has been really good,” Glintborg said. “We put Amarion on one of their best players sometimes, and I thought he did a really good job. He might have hit a three late in the game, but for the most part we did a good job with it.

“I thought our kids dug in more during the fourth quarter. We were bouncing around and playing pretty hard, then in the fourth quarter we got some energy.”

Anderson led a trio of Pirates in double figures with 18 points, followed by Partee with 13 and Brayden Burcham with 10. Hudson Likens led Baptist Prep with 18, while Spoon contributed 13.