FORT GIBSON – Thomas Keith doesn’t think it’s a cliché’ when talking about the importance of making free throws late in a game.

The 6-foot-5 senior’s five foul shots in the last 50.5 seconds were just enough for the Fort Gibson Tigers to  squeak out the 59-56 win against Coweta at Harrison Field House on Friday night.

“Coach (Gary Hendrix) stresses making free throws to us during practice,” Keith said. “We could’ve hit more (in the game). But if they’re going to foul you when the game is close like that, you’ve got to hit them.”

Keith was 7-of-10 from the line and finished with a team-high 18 points to lead the Tigers against the Class 5A No. 11 ranked team in the Okrankings.com. For the game, Fort Gibson sank 19 of 27 free throws.

“The free throws were huge tonight,” Hendrix said. “We had to make them. I was proud of our kids as it was the most intense we’ve played all year long.”

Even with the clutch shooting from the charity stripe, Fort Gibson had to sweat this one out as Ty Gunter missed two 3-point shot attempts in the last 2.8 seconds of the game.

“I thought the second one was going in,” Hendrix said. “From my angle, I could tell the first one wasn’t. They got the rebound and kicked it back out.”

Steven Lanham made four-of-five free throws in the fourth quarter and finished with 11 points as Fort Gibson improved to 11-8 for the season. Jordan London sank 4-of-6 foul shots in the second half and finished with eight points, while Collin Abdullah was 3-of-4 and ended with nine points.

It would classify as Fort Gibson’s biggest win of the season.

“Coming into the game, coach said it was going to be the best team we’ve played all year,” Keith said. “He was challenging us to play our best. We came out and played hard. It ended up good for us.”

Coweta (13-5) was led by Cole Dunn’s 22 points before fouling out with 44.7 seconds left in the game in hitting seven-of-12 shots from the field. Caleb Norris added 10.

Fort Gibson return to action at home on Monday against Tahlequah.



Girls:

FGHS 58, Coweta 24

As the No. 1-ranked and defending Class 4A state champion Lady Tigers wind down their regular season and get ready for the playoffs, it’s evident they are improving their team depth.

That showed as 11 players scored at least two points each in helping Fort Gibson (18-1) power its way to its 10th straight win.

“Right now, our goal is to bring the heat, pressure and the fresh legs,” coach Jerry Walker said. “In our opinion, our bench is stronger than most benches. Sometimes, it’s stronger than most people they put out there (as starters). Some of the kids who come off the bench for us may start at other schools.”

Senior Jodi Glover scored a game-high 13 points, 11 of those in the first half. She said the Lady Tigers are taking pride in their depth.

“It really helps in the way we keep up the pressure,” she said. “If we’re not shooting well, we have more girls who can shoot it.”

Fort Gibson jumped out to a 15-4 lead after the first quarter and then had a 14-0 run in the second period to build its lead to 29-6. The Lady Tigers had a commanding 33-12 halftime lead and built that to 47-16 after three periods.