CHESNEE, S.C. – It was quite the battle that unfolded on Thursday evening as two longtime rivals – Chapman and Chesnee – clashed on the hardwood.
On this evening, a spark from a senior proved to be key, as the Chapman Panthers (4-2) edged the Chesnee Eagles 59-57 in overtime. Trailing by three points with 16 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Chesnee sprinted to the other end of the floor. They found freshman Coyie Poole, who splashed a triple with seven seconds left and sent the game to overtime. “Coyie got a good look on that shot,” said Chesnee head coach Andy Pitt. “I believe that Elijah Wease had the assist. I can’t ask for anymore from my guys and I’m super proud. I told them that we’re not going to take a moral victory from it, but the fight and resiliency we showed was unbelievable.” Two lead changes occurred in the first two minutes of the extra period, but Chapman’s Miles Carter keyed a 5-0 burst for the visitors with two driving layups, one of which turned into a three point play and staked the Panthers to a 59-55 lead with 37 seconds to play. “It was good to know that we could go out there and get a big win on the road,” Carter stated. “You always have to score 10 points more (in road games) because they’re always tough. It felt like we had momentum throughout overtime. We just kept pressuring them, pushing the ball up the court, and scoring baskets when we really needed them.” During the last 20 seconds, the Eagles had a couple of chances to either tie or win. Unfortunately for the home team, both shots rimmed out. “It wasn’t a very pretty performance on our part,” Chapman head coach Greg Wilson admitted. “Give Chesnee credit – they were down a player to start and lost another during the game… I think they deserve more credit than we do. We were very, very fortunate (to win). Miles made a couple of great plays for us down the stretch. I’m happy for the win, but I know we’ve got a lot of things to work on before we play them again on Tuesday.” “Our guys showed a lot of resiliency,” Pitt remarked. “To lose your leading scorer (Brady Poole) midway through the second quarter – a guy who’s averaging almost 28 points a game – I just reminded (the team) that we had some opportunities this summer to play when he wasn’t available. We’ve got the guys that can compete & I feel like that’s one of the hallmarks of our program. We’re going to compete for 32 minutes no matter what the scoreboard says and our guys showed that tonight.” Carter finished with a game-high 20 points for Chapman. Jonathan Mitchell (17 points) and Landon Solesbee (15) also finished in double figures. Brady Poole tallied a team-high 17 points for Chesnee, followed by 12 points from KJ Valentine. GIRLS – Chapman 59, Chesnee 20 The Lady Panthers (2-2) opened the game with a 20-3 run over the first five minutes, establishing an early lead. Clara Gramling and Caroline Garner combined to score the first 12 points for the Panthers during that stretch. Chapman used a 15-1 run over a six minute span in the second quarter to create separation between themselves and the Lady Eagles. During the run, Garner and four other Panthers – Krislyn Wilder, Regan Tolleson, Hannah Jones, and Gabby Freire – all came away with scores of their own. Gramling and Garner each finished with a game-high 15 points for Chapman, while Chesnee was led by Haley Edmonds with six points. Both sides will face quick turnarounds for Friday contests. Chapman will return home to host Shannon Forest, while Chesnee will travel to Boiling Springs. The girls’ games will tip off at 6 PM, followed by the boys’ games at approximately 7:30. -Justin Mathis Comments are closed.
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