No. 9 Eagles slip by Pike County, 46-40

By KEVIN PEARCEY

Sports Editor

BRUNDIDGE – The game was much more competitive then the two double-digit whippings Goshen administered to Pike County last season.

However, the outcome was still the same.

No. 9 Goshen made its free throws down the stretch, allowing the Eagles to escape Brundidge with a 46-40 victory over rival Pike County.

It was the third straight win by Goshen over the Bulldogs. Last season, GHS beat Pike County 74-46 and 64-43.

But one night after spotting 3A No. 1 Calhoun a 15-0 lead , before falling 65-51, Pike County came out to take a 9-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Vincent Ellington and Codie Terry started the game with consecutive three-pointers and then Nick Walker raised the roof with an alley-oop slam courtesy of guard Reggie Griffin. Goshen countered with four points from Kendaris Pelton and a pair of baskets from Damoreo Green.

Wesley Wright was the hot man for Goshen in the second quarter.

Wright knocked down three straight shots from behind the arc, scoring all of the Eagles’ points in the period as GHS went to the locker room leading 17-16.

The Eagles started the third with a 9-4 run, extending the lead to 26-20 midway through the quarter.

But Pike County fought back.

Walker converted a three-point opportunity at the line and Chris Nickson stole an inbounds pass and hit Griffin in the lane for two-pointer, slimming the lead to 26-25.

Freshmen Derrick Foster had an answer for Goshen, nailing a

baseline three-point shot and Pelton added another three just before the end of the third.

Goshen built a 42-37 lead with one minute left in regulation, but Griffin scored on a three-point shot from the top of the key.

The Eagles went four-of-six from the foul line to seal the win.

GHS improves to 10-4, while Pike County falls to 4-6.

While the Goshen boy’s team was busy extending a streak, the Lady Eagles were in the process of breaking one.

Tyeka Jackson’s steal of an inbounds pass and put-back, allowed Goshen to take their third straight win and break a four-year losing streak to Pike County, 48-45.

The Lady Eagles opened with the 6-3 lead in the game, but the Lady Bulldogs appeared ready to take control, scoring 11 straight points to take a 14-6 advantage.

But Pike County would score just one more basket in the period.

Goshen, however, would not.

Two straight scores by Lakeshia Cope started the Lady Eagles on 15-0 run that lasted well on into the second quarter.

"I don’t know what happened," said GHS head coach James Pair. "It just started. We had to take an timeout when they (PCHS) got ahead and go a mind-check. They rose to the occasion, but it was ugly."

Pike County would get baskets from Tamela Foster, Wennica Foster and Stephanie Caffie to go into the locker room down just 24-23.

Goshen came out in the third and went on a

8-4 run, extending the lead to 32-27. The Lady Bulldogs answered with 12-2 tear of their own. Dee Dee Rodgers’ three-pointer with 2:20 remaining in the quarter gave Pike County back the lead, 35-34.

Ashley Miniard hit two shots from inside as the Lady Eagles outscored PCHS 10-4 in the final minutes of the fourth to win it.

Miniard led Goshen with 14 points, while Jackson and Cope had 12 points each. Hope Wheeler added eight.

Wennica Foster had 15 points and Caffie had 14 for the Lady Bulldogs.