Pilots defeat Graves Co., improve record to 8-7

After starting the season 0-5, the Fulton County High School Pilots have won eight of their last 10 games, including victories over Graves County, Hickman County, and Community Christian Academy this past week.

The Pilots are now above .500 at 8-7 heading into the final two regular season games against McCracken County and St. Mary’s this week.

Fulton Co. 80

CCA 48

The Pilots jumped on the Warriors early, leading 22-4 at the end of the first quarter. The Pilots took a 34-21 lead into halftime.

DK Gossett had a team-high 24 points, making five of the Pilots’ eight three-pointers. Also scoring for the Pilots were Chrisshawn Gordon, Omarion Pierce, Hayden Muprhy and Josh Cole with nine points each, Broc Bridges with eight, DiAvian Bradley with six, and Wesley Brown, Luke Jackson, and Jamarius Brown with two each.

Fulton Co. 81

Hickman Co. 59

The Pilots followed up their victory over the Graves County Eagles with an equally as impressive win over the Hickman County Falcons March 5.

Early on, that didn’t look to be the case as the Pilots fell behind 6-0 only 97 seconds into the game, but held pace for the rest of the quarter to trail 14-8 after eight minutes of action.

In the second quarter, the Pilots battled back and cut the Falcons’ lead to 26-24 with 2:32 remaining to force a timeout.

On the Pilots’ ensuing possession, Omarion Pierce found Jamarius Brown wide open for a three-pointer, and Brown drained it to give the Pilots their first lead of the game with 2:08 remaining before halftime.

The Falcons were able to regain the lead and take a 33-30 lead into the locker room.

In the third quarter, the Pilots clamped down defensively with their 2-3 zone, suffocating the Falcons’ offense and causing a multitude of turnovers and contested shots. This allowed the Pilots to get several successful fast break opportunities, allowing them to outscore the Falcons 30-6 in the quarter to take a 60-39 lead.

The Pilots outscored the Eagles 21-20 in the final quarter to secure their third consecutive win, 81-60.

Josh Cole had a team-high 30 points, including five of the Pilots’ eight three-pointers on the night. Also scoring for the Pilots were DK Gossett with 23, Hayden Murphy with seven, Wesley Brown with six, Chrisshawn Gordon with five, Broc Bridges with four, DiAvian Bradley with three, and Jamarius Brown with three.

For more photos from this game, click here.

Fulton Co. 80

Graves Co. 76 (OT)

The Fulton County Pilots were never intimidated and were able to snap the Graves County Eagles’ 10 game-winning streak in overtime March 4.

The Pilots jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, but trailed after the first eight minutes of action, 18-13. They were able to regroup in the second quarter and tie it up at 23 with four minutes remaining. The Eagles outscored the Pilots 8-3 the rest of the quarter to take a 31-26 halftime lead.

With 5:38 remaining in the third quarter, the Pilots regained the lead at 38-37 but the Eagles managed to snag the lead back heading into the fourth quarter, 49-46.

The Pilots tied the game back up at 58 with 3:15 remaining, then regained the lead on a Broc Bridges and-1 putback with 1:33 remaining.

The Eagles scored a bucket to cut the lead to one, but a steal and a lay-up by DiAvian Bradley gave the Pilots a three-point lead again. A late whistle on a questionable foul was then called, compounded by a technical called on Pilot’s Head Coach Hood.

The Eagles were awarded four free throws, but managed to make only three. They were unable to convert on their final possession of regulation, so four additional minutes were added to the clock to determine a winner.

In overtime, both teams went back and fourth with the Pilots building a five point lead after two Hayden Murphy free throws with 2:29 remaining.

The Eagles nailed a three-pointer to make the score 74-73 with 15.2 seconds left.

Two clutch free-throws by Omarion Pierce gave the Pilots a three point lead, and then a steal on the Eagles’ ensuing in-bounds play and another free-throw by Murphy gave the Pilots a 77-73 lead with 12 seconds left.

Another three by the Eagles cut the lead back to one with 4.3 seconds left.

A technical foul was then called on the Eagles, and Murphy once again stepped up to the free-throw line and made two clutch free-throws.

Murphy was then fouled as the Pilots inbounded the ball, and made the first free-throw with two seconds remaining to give the Pilots a four-point lead. The second free-throw was intentionally missed and the Pilots were able to claim a huge victory over a 14-5 Graves County team.

Josh Cole led the team with 25 points, including four of their seven three-pointers, followed by Murphy with 20, Pierce with 10, Bradley with eight, Bridges with seven, DK Gossett with five, Jamarius Brown with four, and Chrisshawn Gordon with one.