Baptist Prep survives shaky ending

Baptist Prep escaped with a 52-51 victory over Pulaski Academy at Alex Hogg Gymnasium on Monday despite some missteps late in the game.

The Eagles turned the ball over on four of its final six possessions, and missed the front end of two one-and-one free-throw opportunities in the final 31 seconds.

The Bruins had a chance to move ahead as time wound down, but a layup attempt by Griffin Newby rolled off the rim and was rebounded by Baptist Prep's Ethan Clouser. He was fouled by Pulaski Academy guard Demetrius Sharp and missed the free throw, but a desperation shot by the Bruins didn't find the basket.

"I'm grateful for the win," Baptist Prep Coach Steve Miller said. "We didn't do so well near the end of the game when we turned the ball over four of the last six times we had the ball. And we missed the front end of two one-and-ones in our final two possessions.

"That's what makes it a tough job, but we held on. Defensively, we did a pretty good job, but I'm very thankful Mr. Newby missed the final layup. He is just a great player, but we are grateful to go on the road and get a win."

Miller admitted the Eagles (7-3) had a difficult time stopping Newby.

"We tried to double down on him, then we switched to Gavin Grober," he said. "He's a little bit stronger and bulkier than our other players. Then we tried Jonathan Singleton on him in the lane to make it tough for him to get off shots."

The teams battled back and forth in the first quarter, but the Bruins (1-4) held an 18-14 lead when Kaylan Makon hit a shot as the buzzer sounded.

In the second quarter, the Eagles and Bruins played to a standstill, allowing Pulaski Academy to maintain the four-point lead at the half, 29-25.

In the third quarter, Baptist Prep scored five consecutive points on a field goal by Grober with 3:29 left in the quarter and a three-pointer from the corner by Parker Bevans as the Eagles grabbed a 43-39 lead.

Sharp cut the margin to 43-42 when he made a three-pointer with 25 seconds left in the quarter. He tied the score 45-45 when he hit the second of two free throws with 6:23 left in the game.

Baskets by Daniel Cobb and Clouser pushed the Eagles ahead 49-45 with 5:32 left in the game. Cobb was fouled when he hit a field goal, then converted the free throw for a 52-45 lead with 2:26 remaining. Those were the last points for Baptist Prep.

A Joe Himon field goal made it 52-47, then two consecutive field goals by Newby -- one after a steal at midcourt -- trimmed the lead to 52-51 with 38.1 seconds remaining.

DJ Townsend missed a free throw with 31.4 left for Baptist Prep, then Newby had his close-in shot roll out with 4.2 seconds left.

Cobb had 19 points to lead the Eagles while Clouser finished with 16. Sharp led the Bruins with a game-high 20 points, and Newby had 15.

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