In Friday night’s final four minutes, Gray and the Braves finally did enough to stop Kenton Ridge 76-74 in double overtime to tighten their grip on second place in the Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail Division.
Oh, and Gray scored 47 points, including 31 after halftime with lots of drives to the basket mixed with a few jump shots and free throws. Not a Shawnee (11-7, 6-3) record, though. That mark is 53.
The Cougars (9-11, 2-7), of course, had a chance to force a third overtime or win it. Gray made one of two free throws with 22 seconds left for a two-point lead. The plan was for Jordan Bailey to create a shot for himself as he often does. But he slipped and passed to Scotty Blackburn on the left wing. Blackburn’s 3-point attempt was on line but bounced off the front of the rim and the Braves celebrated.
The Cougars were balanced with big man Caleb King scoring 20 points to lead an inside attack that gave Shawnee fits all night. Blackburn had 17, Brent Morris 14 and Bailey 13.
The Cougars took a a 59-57 lead with 41 seconds left in regulation on a free throw. But they fouled Aaron Schack on the rebound when the second one missed. Schack made both free throws to tie, and Jordan Bailey’s off-balance 3-point try rimmed out as time ran down.
Gray’s drive down the lane gave Shawnee a 68-66 lead with 1:08 left in overtime. Bailey tied the score at 68 with a 15-footer with 50 seconds left. Shawnee held for the last shot, but KR stopped it and had a an NBA-length 3-point try at the buzzer go wide.
Shawnee has a one-game lead over Tippecanoe with one league game left and clinched a share of second place. Tecumseh is 9-1 and clinched the league title with a 59-49 win over Stebbins.
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