BY Michael Shipma

Turnovers were a thorn in its side, but the Pike Liberal Arts boys basketball team held on late in the game to come away with a 35-31 victory over Lee Scott at home Thursday.

The Patriots (1-1, 0-0 AISA District IV) built up an early double-digit lead and made free throws down the stretch to hold off a late rally from the visiting Warriors (3-1, 0-0 AISA District VI).

“Lee Scott is a great basketball team,” head coach Alan Ponder said after the game. “They missed some shots early which gave us an opportunity to build up a lead, but I thought our guys did a good job of taking them out of their game.”

Senior point guard Marquese Christian led the home team in the low-scoring affair, scoring the first five points of the game as his team made its way to an 11-1 lead in the opening quarter. He was helped out by fellow senior guard John Cox, who nailed a three-point shot from the corner right before the buzzer to give his team the commanding lead after the first eight minutes of play.

Christian finished the game with 10 points, including four clutch free throws down the stretch, while Cox finished with seven.

The Warriors rallied in the second quarter, however, and after making some adjustments on defense, they were able to bring the score to 14-8 at the half. Lee Scott ran its offense through its big man down low, senior center Heath Huff, who had seven points in the game.

Both sides continued to trade scores in the third quarter, with Pike Lib scoring the majority of its points in the paint, while Lee Scott was forced into shooting the ball from the outside and from the free throw line.

The visitors tightened up on defense following the second half, forcing Christian to handle the ball the vast majority of the time on offense. The energy on defense from the Warriors was tangible in the third quarter, as they were able to force turnover after turnover. The offense, however, struggled to convert those turnovers into points, and as a result, the Patriots were able to retain a 25-21 lead going into the fourth quarter.

From that point forward, the game was a battle of free throws, with both teams’ aggressive defenses putting the other side in the double bonus in the final minutes of the game. Despite shooting just 5-19 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter, it was just enough to hold off Lee Scott, who shot 4-8 from the line.

“Our poise and focus was outstanding,” Ponder said. “We had some turnovers, but when the pressure gets going like that late in the ball game, all that you can ask is that they continue to play hard and protect the basketball, and for the most part we were able to do that.”