Barker’s FTs lift Priceville to win
Kaleb Barker may have been the coolest guy on the court with 6.9 seconds to go in the game.
The freshman calmly sank a pair of free throws to break the tie, helping Priceville (13-12) survive a ferocious comeback by Lawrence County to win 52-50 Thursday night.
With the game tied 50-50, Lawrence County could have played for the last shot with less than 30 seconds to go. However, Hayden Prentice forced a turnover and passed to Barker, streaking down the floor to the basket with no one in front of him.
“I thought I was going to get fouled,” Barker said. “I just had to step up and hit the free throws to give my team the big win.”
Lawrence County set up a last shot opportunity with 1.5 seconds to play, but the Bulldogs knocked the ball away from the Red Devils as time expired to preserve the win.
Priceville coach Darrell Haynes said it was good to get the win, especially heading into area play next week.
“Lawrence County is a good 5A basketball team and they have a up- and down-the-floor attack,” Haynes said. “Hopefully this is something we can build on heading into area play.”
Luke Mason led the Bulldogs with 13 points followed by Barker and Jake Crow, both with nine points apiece; Prentice with eight; Malik Orr with seven; Marc McClendon with four; and Chandler Livingston with two.
Orr also added seven rebounds while McClendon had five rebounds, Mason had four rebounds and Prentice had four rebounds.
Donnivan Wheeler and Gabe Vernon led the Red Devils with 10 points apiece.
After the Red Devils built 15-10 lead in the first quarter, Priceville went on a 17-1 run to take a 31-18 advantage and led 33-24 at the half.
The Lawrence County defense turned up the pressure in the second half, forcing more than 20 for the game.
With 7:14 to play, Lawrence County took the lead on three free throws. The Bulldogs answered, hitting a 3-pointer to take a 46-43 lead with 3:15 to play.
From there it was back and forth until Prentice hit a runner in the lane to tie the game at 50 with 40 seconds to go.
While Lawrence County had opportunities to score, they failed to get off a shot down the stretch, turning it over on each of their possessions in the last minute.
That allowed Barker the opportunity to give Priceville the win.
Lawrence Co. 59, Priceville girls 33
Adrien Coffey led the Lady Red Devils with 25 points in the easy win Thursday.
Emilee Cunningham and Alex Moore led Priceville with seven points each followed by Brianna Gwin with six; McKenzie Parker, Jada Beverly and Shyanne Stackhouse, all with four; and Ashlee Quinn with three.