South Gibson rally dooms Dyersburg boys

 

Jason Peevyhouse

Editor, JP Productions

The Trojans held a ten-point lead later in the third quarter only to see a Hornet rally come back to sting the Dyersburg boys in the fourth quarter as South Gibson came from behind to take a 49-45 win over the black and gold on Friday night in Medina.

With the game tied at 20-20 at the end of the first half, the Trojans got a pair of early buckets from senior Breyden Turnage put Dyersburg on top. South Gibson rallied to tie the score at 24-24 before a three-point play by Turnage opened a 10-0 run by the Trojans to take a double-digit lead with 2:21 left in the frame. The lead remained at double figures until a minute later when a jumper and a three-pointer by South Gibson’s Gavin Crawford helped the Hornets cut the Dyersburg lead in half at 34-29 heading into the fourth frame.

The Trojans responded in the fourth quarter with a three-point play by Demante Johnson to push their lead back to eight just 18 seconds in the final frame. A quick five-point sprint by the Hornets cut the lead back to one one possession before two Turnage free throws and a Jace Ward bucket pushed the Dyersburg lead back to 41-34 with just over five minutes left in the game.

The momentum swung into South Gibson’s favor over the next few minutes as an 11-0 run by the Hornets put the home team on top by four with 1:25 left in the contests. A Turnage bucket cut it in half then, after a Sam Tritt free throw for South Gibson, a Jeff Cobb bucket trimmed South Gibson’s lead to 46-45 with 31 seconds left. After a foul and a Crawford free throw gave the ball back to Dyersburg, a carrying call on the Trojans proved costly as it gave the ball back to the Hornets with 11 seconds left. Crawford hit two more free throws following a DHS foul to seal the game and the win for the Hornets.

South Gibson jumped on the Trojans early, opening the game with a 10-3 run. Dyersburg was able to battle back with buckets from Ward and Turnage to trim the deficit to 12-8 after on quarter.

The Trojans chipped away at the Hornet lead in the second frame, getting buckets from Isaiah Thomas and Turnage to tie the game at 16-16 with 2:50 left in the half. South Gibson quickly retook a four-point lead before two Ward free throws and a Turnage bucket tied the game at the half.

Turnage led the way for the Trojans with 18 points while Ward added 14 in the loss.

Dyersburg has a quick turnaround as the Trojans and Lady Trojans travel to Poplar Bluff on Saturday with girls action beginning at 3:30 p.m.