Central teams celebrate homecoming with sweep of Gore

It was a happy homecoming Saturday afternoon for the Central basketball teams as they swept the Gore squads.

In a boys’ contest that was nip and tuck throughout, the Tigers used a late surge to defeat the Pirates 57-54 to begin the twinbill, then the Lady Tigers roared past the Lady Pirates 60-40.

BOYS

CENTRAL 57, GORE 54

Trailing 54-50 with 2:22 left to play in the game, the Tigers (8-4) ended the game with a 7-0 run to get the comefrom- behind win.

After the Tigers jumped out to a 7-0 lead, the Pirates (7-5) scored eight straight points to take an 8-7 lead on a conventional three-point play by Tate Brooksher with 5:33 left in the first quarter.

From there, the lead changed hands a total of five times, with a 3-point basket by Central’s Aidan Sainer, who was the homecoming king, with three seconds remaining in the period putting the Tigers ahead 16-14 after the first quarter.

Although Gore got the game tied twice in the second quarter, Central never lost its lead as the Tigers enjoyed a 33-29 halftime advantage.

The Pirates scored the second half’s first seven points to take a 36-33 lead on Cain Cooper’s 3-pointer with 4:36 left in the third quarter.

By the time the period ended, there were four ties, but a pair of Cooper free throws with 49 seconds left in the quarter put Gore ahead 44-42 going into the final period.

The fourth quarter saw seven lead changes, but it was Central which grabbed the seventh and final lead change with its 7-0 run over the final 2:22.

For the game, Central put a trio of players into double figures, led by Sainer’s 14 points, followed by Paitton Merrill’s 12 points and Braxin Goodson’s 10 points. Hardy Buzzard scored eight points, followed by Noah Buzzard with seven points and Josh Brunk with six points.

In defeat, Cooper scored a gamehigh 18 points to lead Gore, followed by Brooksher, Eli Munson and Nash Thouvenel with nine points each, Duane Hunt with four points, Keeton Rowe with three points and Cruz Ward with two points.

GIRLS

CENTRAL 60, GORE 40

Trailing 5-2 with 2:54 left in the first quarter, the Lady Tigers (9-3) ended the period on an 8-3 run to put Central ahead 10-8 entering the second quarter.

It was the second period in which the Lady Tigers started pulling away from the Lady Pirates (4-8) as Central outscored Gore 18-6 in the quarter to increase Central’s advantage to 28-14 at halftime. Central had a 44-27 lead going into the fourth quarter.

For the game, Central had three players reach double figures, led by Cambree Bair’s 18 points, followed by homecoming queen Hadlie Woods with 14 points and Ayrland Jiles with 10 points. Haley Cheek scored seven points, followed by Paris Campbell with five points and Alexxus Bolin, Ryleigh Pierce and Charlie Petree with two points apiece.

In defeat, Emily Daily scored 15 points and Ricki Huckbay added 10 points to lead Gore, followed by Kennedy Williams with eight points, Rayleigh Moore with four points, River Shoemake with two points and Sophie O’Connor with a free throw.