The Grizzlies sank 12-of-19 free shots in the fourth quarter to grab a 70-67 victory over Cave Springs in a first-round losers bracket game at Howe's Dennis Hemphill Fieldhouse.
The triumph was Gans' second in three postseason games and improved the Grizzlies' record to 13-8 while eliminating Cave Springs from the playoffs.
The Hornets, however, did not go down easily.
Trailing by 10 at the end of the third quarter, Cave Springs used full-court pressure and three-point shooting to claw back into contention. Seth Merrie scored 13 of his team-high 19 points in the fourth period to spark the comeback. The sophomore post netted seven-straight points during a 10-1 spurt and Andrew "Bam" Sanders sank a trey from the corner to hand the Hornets a 61-60 lead with 3:15 remaining.
Gans answered with a 7-0 run as Jordan Woodruff knocked down 4-of-6 attempts from the line to give the Grizzlies a 67-61 edge in the final minute. Josh Robison sealed the win by hitting two free throws with five seconds left.
Robison, a freshman post player, led Gans with a game-high 24 points. Senior guard Jordan Woodruff pumped in another 20 points for Gans, which shot 44.9 percent from the floor. Eual Knapp added 15 points, Chris Plank six and Matt Jacobs five.
Robison and Woodruff paced Gans on the boards with eight rebounds apiece while Plank grabbed six.
Cave Springs connected on nine shots from three-point range, including five by Sanders. Merrie had two of the treys on the way to 19 points. Sanders joined him in double figures with 16 points and both players snagged eight rebounds for the Hornets. Kyle Sam added 10 points, Jordan Turner seven, Brett Livers five, Justin Eubanks four, Jobey Still three and John Sellers three. Still also pulled down seven rebounds to help Cave Springs to a 31-29 edge on the glass.
The Hornets were playing without two key players-Terry Sanders and Jeff Sumpter-who were both injured in a car wreck last week. Despite their absence, Cave Springs kept pace with Gans and was within 16-14 at the start of the second quarter.
Andrew Sanders buried back-to-back three-point shots midway through the period to give the Hornets a 27-26 edge before the Grizzlies closed the half with an 8-2 surge. Robison sank a 15-foot jumper and then scored on a putback at the buzzer to give Gans a 34-29 advantage at the break.
The game stayed close throughout the third period until Gans reeled off nine-straight points to go up 52-42. Robison ignited the run with putback and Woodruff capped it with a three-point play.
The Grizzlies went on to fight off Cave Springs' late rally to move into the second round of the regional losers' bracket. Gans was scheduled to play Kiefer at 8 p.m. Friday night in Kiefer.
Howe 105, Cave Springs 48 (Girls)
Playing on the homecourt of the No. 1 team in the state, the Lady Hornets suffered their first loss of the postseason on Thursday night.
University of Oklahoma-signee Stephanie McGhee poured in 39 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Howe to the Class A regional winners' bracket victory.
Cave Springs, which was coming off two wins at last week's district tourney, dropped to 13-9 and was scheduled to play again at 1:30 p.m. Friday in an elimination game against Kiefer.
Howe took control early with a 28-11 run in the first eight minutes and continued to pull away on its quest for a return trip to the state tournament.
Cave Springs' top scorers were Nicole Swake and Deeandra Soap with 12 points each, while Tabitha Bluebird and Stacy Kimble added six points apiece.
In other games on Thursday at Howe, the Keota girls staved off elimination with a 62-39 win over Oaks and the Howe boys posted a victory against Oaks, 85-81.
