Gaffney stays unbeaten
By LARRY HILLIARD Ledger Sports Editor larry@gaffneyledger.com

Photo by LARRY HILLIARD Gaffney's Josh Corry squares up for a jumpshot during first-quarter action Friday against Byrnes. Corry led the undefeated Indians with 24 points.

Gaffney coach Mark Huff had several reasons to be pumped.

The Indians made 19 of their 27 free throws. Gaffney outrebounded the taller Byrnes Rebels. 34-24.

And, most importantly, the Indians remained undefeated with a hard-fought 63-60 win over the visiting Rebels on Friday.

"Our kids didn't get down (when they trailed by three)," said a smiling Huff. "Our fans did a great job and our guys stepped up."

Trailing by as many as seven points in the third quarter, the Indians took the lead 51-50 on Josh Corry's 3-pointer with 3:15 left to play.

Byrnes regained the lead on Jason Logan's stickback off his own miss. But Corry tied the game at 52 with a free throw, then put the Indians up by two points with two more free throws with 1:49 remaining.

Anthony Johnson tied the game with a jumper before 5-foot-8 point guard Jazz Palmer grabbed a rebound underneath the basket and scored to give the Indians the lead for good at 56-54.

The Indians extended their lead to 59- 54 on Robert Butler's free throw. But the Rebels pulled within 59-57 on Johnson's 3-pointer with :17 left to play.

Corry sank two more free throws to push the Indians' advantage to three points before Torian Richardson's long jumper bounced high off the rim and through the basket to make it a one-point Rebel deficit.

Butler sealed the win with two free throws in the waning seconds.

Corry had 24 points, including 10 of 12 free throws, to pace the Indians, who improve to 5-0 overall and 1-0 in region play.

Gaffney enjoyed a huge edge at the foul line. Byrnes went to the free throw line only three times.

"We've been spending a lot of time shooting free throws," Huff said. "Last year, we weren't a very good free throw shooting team. The first game this year we made just 18 of 39 free throws."

In the third quarter, the Rebels erased a 31-26 halftime deficit to lead 46-43 at the end of the quarter. Logan, who was saddled with foul trouble in the first half, had eight points in the quarter, including a highlight-reel, length-of-the-court drive and jam.

Gaffney travels to 8-1 Dorman on Wednesday.

In girls' varsity action, Tiffany Adair had 25 points and Ashley Holland added 18 to lead Byrnes to a 63-48 win over the Lady Indians.

Byrnes had a 9-0 run in the fourth quarter to break the game open.

Tierra Phillips had 18 points to lead the Lady Indians.