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He did however say, “We didn’t rebound the ball at all ... all night. That was a huge thing.
“We out-rebounded them in our first two meetings this year, but they at least were even or out-rebounded us tonight.
“That was a crucial difference.”
In a game that obviously came down to the wire — in Coach Ginn’s words — “They made plays at the end and we didn’t.
“We started out in the first quarter really poorly on offense, but in the third quarter, I thought we did kind of find a rhythm. We put up 19 points in both the third and fourth quarters.
“We actually took a four-point lead when we hit a buzzer beater at the end of the third,” he added, “I thought we had things turning our way and I thought we had them kind of where we wanted them.” But the Cougars did make the plays that counted in the end.
The fourth quarter
Leading 49-48 going into the last frame, the Warriors found themselves trailing 59-56 with 1:34 showing on the game clock, when Cougar senior Gary Lipsey found junior Wesley Barefield open underneath the basket for the hoop and the harm. Barefield connected on the free throw.
PHS senior Rashad Chewe then found himself in the same situation with the basket and the foul, but missed the free throw at the 1:25 mark leaving his team behind, 59-58. Chewe finished the with seven points.
Then Cougar eighth grader Kelsey Scott hit both ends of a one-and-one charity-stripe situation to make it a 61-58 game.
Scott
The Cougars were led by senior Gary Lipsey with 24 points and four assists, followed by senior Jermaine Bean with 14, including two 3-pointers.
“They played well and the way I’ve thought they would all year,” said Cougar head coach Chris Vandiver. But the eighth grader really caught the coach’s eye Saturday night.
“Kelsey Scott and some of the others that we haven’t been thinking that they can produce, played well tonight, also. Scott was a big difference in the game.” Scott added 12 points in the win with three assists and five offensive rebounds.
“He was kind of non-existent in the first two games we played them (Pontotoc), but in this game he played like he is capable of playing.”
The final minute
Scott made a steal and fed the ball to Lipsey who drew a foul. Lipsey sank two with less than a minute remaining to make it a 63-58 affair.
Then Pontotoc’s Josh Green put back his own rebound and drew the foul with 40 seconds remaining. He missed the free throw and the game remained at 60-63. Green was the Warriors’ high scorer in the game with 17 points.
Bean then took the basketball to the hole, followed by a steal and basket by Lipsey to make it 66-60. Lipsey was fouled in the process, and once again came through with the free throw to give the Cougars their 67th point of the game.
Chewe drove the paint for Pontotoc to end the scoring at 67-62.
Griffin McCormick added 13 points in the loss for the Warriors.
Vandiver’s take
“I think everybody may say that Pontotoc did some things differently than they did in our first two meetings,” Coach Vandiver said of the previous 15 and 20-point Pontotoc wins.
“But I think our defense forced some turnovers and forced them out of some things that they wanted to do. I believe that was the difference in the game tonight.”
One things for sure ... the Warriors perimeter shooting was effected most of the night.
“When you’ve got somebody in your face and you’ve got people coming to trap, it makes it a little more difficult,” Vandiver explained. “You don’t have those open looks and you’re going to have to force some things and you’re going to be out of your rhythm and not be able to get in a flow.”
Pontotoc’s Andrew Bell was held to only seven points in Saturday’s contest.
Ginn’s take
“When we finish a game with only three offensive rebounds, we just didn’t make an effort to get on the boards,” Coach Ginn said. “That’s not Pontotoc Warrior basketball, and you will not see the same thing out of us Tuesday night.”
The Warriors were scheduled to have traveled to New Albany to open Region 1-4A play on Tuesday, Dec. 8.
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