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Cherokee nips Mustangs in free throw shooting contest
Kyle Lossiah scored 22 points as Cherokee rallied from a nine-point deficit in the final six minutes to edge Smoky Mountain 61-59 on Nov. 23 at Cherokee.
Josh Crowe added 12 points for the Braves.
John Salzano paced the Mustangs with 19 points. Cory Siler finished with 14, and Cody Maney had 10.
Smoky Mountain's Cody Maney scored 10 points and claimed nine rebounds in last week's loss at Cherokee. – Herald photo by Carey Phillips
"We had a lead, but we let their pressure bother us," Coach Scott Hartbarger said. "We didn't handle the basketball well and finish."
The game deteriorated into a free throw shooting contest with the teams combining for 77 attempts, but neither had much success from the line. The Mustangs made 19 of 44 free throws while Cherokee was 17 for 33.
Other than Salzano going 13 of 17, SM was an horrendous six of 27 from the foul line.
"It's hard to get in a flow with the way fouls were being called," Hartbarger said. "You can't miss 25 free throws and expect to win."
SM was up 49-40 on Cody Maney's basket with 6:02 left in the contest when missed free throws and turnovers began to take their toll.
The Braves went on a 13-2 run, including seven by Lossiah, to go in front 53-51 with 2:55 on the clock.
Siler's three-point play gave SM a 56-53 lead at the 2:35 mark.
The Braves fought back to take the lead for good at 59-58 on Lossiah's basket with 36 seconds left.
They missed three of four free throws in the closing seconds, but turnovers kept the Mustangs from having a chance to win.
SM's biggest lead was 35-24 after Matt Gibson's three-pointer with 6:41 to play in the third period. The margin was 45-37 at the quarter break.
Defense ruled in the first stanza, which ended with the Mustangs up 7-6. Both teams scored in the opening minute, but SM was scoreless for there and a half minutes while the Braves went almost six minutes without a field goal.
Cherokee took a 15-11 edge on Drew Grant's trey with 5:44 remaining in the half.
Salzano had eight points in a 13-2 spurt giving his team a 24-18 lead with 2:21 on the clock.
SM led 30-24 at intermission.
"Defensively, for two thirds of the game we played great," Hartbarger said.
Salzano's points came on three field goals and 13 free throws. Siler hit six field goals and two foul shots. Maney scored all his points from the floor.
Martin Davis and Tyson Crawford both finished with six points, and Gibson had four.
Siler pulled down 14 rebounds, and Maney had nine. Salzano dished out nine assists.
Hartbarger singled out Salzano, Maney and Siler for their play. He added that Abram Scott rebounded well.
"I hope we can learn from a game like that and execute a little better in other games like that," the coach said.
The Mustang JVs won 56-48. Evan Salzano and Dayne Bowers both scored 12 points, and Kalin Haskett had 10.
SM led 17-7 after the first quarter but trailed 29-25 at halftime. The Mustangs were on top 37-36 entering the fourth period.
"It was good for us that we got down and played well in a tight game against a pretty good team," Coach Jim Hartbarger said.
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