The two-headed monster of Logan Gosnell and Roman Gamble combined for 50 points for Utica (9-13, 5-10), leading the Redskins to a 69-64 overtime win over Fredericktown (13-8, 10-2) in the final game of the regular season.
Utica opened up the game with a 5-0 lead, highlighted by a three for Gosnell from the corner with 6:30 left. They tacked on three more points to start the game on an 8-0 run, and while Fredericktown was looking to score, Gavin Chinn was able to swat away a shot to keep the momentum going for the Redskins. Up 9-2, Chinn also recorded a steal near their own basket. Fredericktown woke up, however, and by the end of the first quarter it was an 11-8 Utica lead.
In the second quarter, Gamble drilled a deep three to put Utica up 14-8. With 3:50 left in the quarter, Gosnell poked away the ball for a steal and took it to the hole, giving the Redskins a 19-15 lead. He then hit a shot from deep to put Utica up 22-18 with 2:40 remaining in the half. Both teams scored 17 points in the quarter, and Utica took a 28-25 lead into the locker room.
In the third quarter, Utica was up 30-25, but Trevor Bellman cut the lead to two on a three for Fredericktown. Utica went up 35-26 in the third quarter with 7:05 left when Hunter McKinney stole the ball and took it to the basket for a fast break score on an acrobatic layup. Bellman hit a three for Fredericktown to make it a 37-31 game. Gavin Toombs then sank a three to make it a 39-34 game. With just under five minutes left in the quarter, Gosnell sank a three to put Utica up 42-32. He hit another three to go up 49-37. Utica outscored the Freddies 23-19 in the third quarter to take a 51-44 lead.
Fredericktown was able to eek their way back into the game, however. Bellman stole the ball and scored on a fast break layup to cut the Utica lead to 56-54 with 1:30 left. In the fourth quarter, Fredericktown had a 14-7 advantage and were able to tie up the game to send it into overtime.
Utica controlled the overtime with an 11-6 advantage and walked away with a five point win.
Gosnell went 6-for-9 from three and had a game high 30 points in the win. He also grabbed three rebounds, and recorded two steals, an assist and a block. Gamble had 20 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals. Gamble went 11-for-12 from the foul line.
“Logan really got us off to a great start tonight and continued throughout the game I am so happy for him,” said Coach Brian Radabaugh. “Roman made big plays in OT and had tremendous poise making his last 10 free throws.”
McKinney had eight points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal, while Chinn had five points, eight boards and a steal. Dylan Yates had four points, eight boards and two assists, and Isaac Hall rounded out the scoring with two points.
Fredericktown was led by Toombs, who put together a big night with 27 points, 10 boards, an assist and a steal. Carson Rinehart had 16 points, eight rebounds, an assist and a block. Bellman had 15 points, two assists, two steals and a rebound.
“Tough loss and not how we wanted to send the seniors out but we have to learn from it and find ways to get better,” said Fredericktown Coach Derek Dibling. “I thought we got great contributions from Trevor Bellman who was able to find his shooting rhythm early. Gavin Toombs was a monster finishing with a double double. He did a great job of getting to his spots and finishing around the rim. Carson Rinehart had a great overall game scoring the ball and more importantly collecting six offensive rebounds giving him eight for the game.”
This was the second straight win for the Redskins, and Coach Radabaugh was very happy with the team’s ability to finish the regular season strong with the playoffs right around the corner.
“We feel good about our recent play winning four of our last five games,” Radabaugh said. “We are tested every single game in our league playing good teams and big schools, we have seen it all and it has made us battle tested and confident.”
