Gore, Gans basketball squads split

The visiting Gore High School basketball teams and the host Gans squads split their Thursday night games at Bryant “Big Country” Reeves Fieldhouse.

A last-second lay-up by Melania Paniagua with seven seconds left lifted her Gans Lady Grizzlies to a 35-34 win over the Gore Lady Pirates, while the Gore Pirates tamed the Gans Grizzlies 63-33 in the nightcap.

GIRLS

GANS 35, GORE 34

With the game tied at 30-all with 4:18 left in the game, the Lady Pirates (2-10) went on a 4-1 run, capped by Natalie Casteel’s free throw with 1:36 remaining in regulation to give Gore a 3431 lead.

However, the last four points of the game went to the Lady Grizzlies (4-8) as Aaliyah Taylor’s basket with 1:15 left in the game cut Gore’s lead to 3433, then Melania Paniagua’s layup with seven seconds proved to be the game-winner.

The first quarter saw a tie and three lead changes, with the last lead going to Gore after a pair of River Shoemake free throws put the Lady Pirates ahead 7-6 after a quarter.

A basket by Shoemake to open the second period upped Gore’s advantage to 9-6. It would end up being Gore’s last lead until the hectic finish in the fourth quarter.

The Lady Grizzlies ended the first half on a 10-4 run to take a 16-13 lead at halftime. Both teams scored 10 points in the third quarter as Gans maintained its three-point lead at 26-23 going into the fourth quarter.

Back-to-back baskets by the Gore duo of Kaitlyn Byrne and Shoemake regained the lead for the Lady Pirates at 27-26, but the Lady Grizzlies went on a 4-0 run themselves as a pair of Paniagua free throws and a basket by Brianna Burris regained the lead for Gans at 30-27.

Three straight free throws by Shoemake got the game tied at 30-all with 4:18 left to play.

For the game, Paniagua led Gans with 13 points, followed by Burris with eight points, Taylor with six points, Reina Gaona with five points and Stevie Pratt with three points.

In defeat, Shoemake led all scorers with a game-high 19 points to lead Gore, followed by Emily Daily with five points, Casteel and Ricki Huckbay with four points each and Byrne with two points.

BOYS

GORE 63, GANS 33

A 3-point basket by Gans player Mayson Clifton gave the Grizzlies (4-7) a 12-10 lead with 3:25 left in the first quarter, but the Pirates (7-6) ended the period on a 10-2 run to take a 22-14 lead heading into the second period.

The Pirates got as much as a 12-point lead in the second quarter as Burr Jaymes hit a basket to put Gore ahead 33– 21 with 4:01 left before halftime.

After Gans big man Josh Brunk scored with 2:56 remaining in the first half to cut his team’s deficit to 33-23, the Pirates ended the first half with a 7-0 run, capped by four free throws by Jaymes to give Gore a 40-23 halftime advantage.

The Pirates got as much as a 31-point lead in the fourth quarter as Tate Brooksher’s basket with 3:41 left to play put Gore up 62-31.

For the game, Brooksher stroked the nylon for a game-high 27 points, which included seven 3-point baskets, to lead Gore. Jaymes had 15 points, followed by Cain Cooper with 10 points, Journey Shells with nine points and Byron McDuffie with two points.

In defeat, Brunk scored 10 points to lead Gans, followed by Ashton Langston with eight points, Clifton with seven points and Nakota White and Clay Martin with four points apiece.

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The Gans home basketball games against Arkoma that were slated for this past Friday night were postponed until 6 and 7:30 p.m. Jan. 22.