The Gibson Southern Titans faced off against the Boonville Pioneers on Tuesday in an away match up. The score was closely contested with the Titans pulling out on top with a buzzer beater layup from sophomore Brayden Malone, winning 37-36.
Both teams started the first quarter off slow with the Pioneers on top 5-4. The scoring picked up in the second quarter with the Pioneers controlling the lead into the half 19-18.
The third quarter held much of the same with little scoring with Gibson Southern gaining the lead 29-28. Neither team could gain an advantage in the scoring category, even though Booneville had a major height advantage with multiple players standing at 6’5.
Going into the final 30 seconds, Gibson Southern had a 35-34 lead when Ryan Smith of Boonville was fouled on a reach in. He would go to the line for a one and one. He hit both to put the Pioneers up by one.
With 5.7 seconds on the clock, the Titans inbounded the ball to Malone at three-quarter court. He sprinted the length of the court in 3 seconds and heaved up a layup in the face of a 6’5 defender. It banked in with one second left and the Titans bench rushed the court to celebrate their victory.
“When I got the ball, I was really looking to pass the ball to Aidan or Drew up the court,” said Malone. “I saw they were face guarded so I took it myself. I was really lucky it went in.”
Malone showed potential during his first varsity start.
“It was a great way to end the game,” Titan head coach Kyle Runyan said. “I’m very proud of how Brayden stepped up in his first varsity start and was ready to step up for the shot.”
Senior Aidan Neel led the Titans with 10 points, including a pair of threes. Senior Adam May and sophomore Drew Foster each hit one trey en route to eight. Malone’s game-winner gave him six.
The Titans extended their win streak to three with this win.
“That was a crazy ending,” May said. “It was a lot of fun to be apart of.”
The Titans will travel to Tecumseh on Friday to take on the Braves; they are looking to extend their win streak to 4 in this contest.