Jared Henderson knocked down two free throws with less than one minute to play Tuesday night and Pike Liberal Patriot defense clamped down on the Hooper Colts for a 50-45 victory on the road.

“We kept our turnovers down tonight, but our defense won the game for us,” PLAS head coach Mike Barbaree said. “I am proud of our team because they did a great job and one of them told me it was the first region game they had won in his time here.”

Barbaree said he was happy with the effort of his team. The Patriots (1-1, 1-1 AISA Class AAA, Region 1) trailed 12-10 after the first quarter, but rallied for a 29-18 halftime lead following a 19-6 run in the second quarter.

PLAS never trailed the Colts after taking the lead in the second quarter even though they were outscored in the second half 26-21. Hooper cut the lead to two points late in the final quarter, but with a three-point lead Henderson nailed his free throws and Pike’s defense stood firm.

Justin McLaughlin led the scoring with 19 points for Pike. Ross Hixon added 10 points, Douglas Hawkins contributed seven points and Alex Adams had five points. Adams had 10 of the team’s 11 rebounds.

“Alex played a good game,” Barbaree said.

The varsity girls also won Tuesday night, but a score was not available at press time. The JV boys and girls lost Tuesday. The boys lost 31-29.

Pike Liberal’s varsity squads host Covenant Christian Saturday at 2 p.m.