East Comesback To Nip Gillette [VIDEO]

Video highlights of the Friday, January 30th, 4A Boys Basketball game, between Gillette at #1 East.

Scroll down to see highlights!

The Thunderbirds trailed for nearly the entire second half vs. the Camels, but knocked down their free throws late, and held on in the final seconds to win.

Want to play with the big boys? Then you need a big boy style introduction! It gets the crowd hyped up too, so why not?

Gillette at #1 East...first quarter...East wearing the white...Jacob Ross is a 6 foot 7 sophomore, and when he's that close to the hoop, you can almost count on a basket. This will put his team on the board first...2-to-nothing.

...and when they did not have the size, they made up for it with skill. Elijah Oliver wants to make a deposit at the bank and he would cash in. You will see more from the junior later...now it's 6-to-2.

The Thunderbirds were making the first big move...Ross still has room to grow...and when he does, he'll be dunking a lot more than just doughnuts. We have ourselves an 8-to-2 contest.

Gillette would get their act together and pick up the pace...good assist from Talon Nelson to Andrew Hays and the seniors were on the same page. That made the score closer at 8-to-7.

The next highlight is a little quick...Cale Miessler is in the corner causing trouble. That 3 would give the Camels the lead for the time being...ahead 10-to-8.

The home team had some style though...Oliver...please sir I want some more...and he would get it. The 3-point play would tip the scales the other way, at 13-to-10.

The visitors kept hanging around though...Eli Voigt with some 1-on-1 action, and he will can a 10 foot jumper, to even up the score at 14-points a piece.

They were finding some fast break opportunities...Nelson will take the lob and finish with the left hand for 2 of his 11 points, and put his squad back on top 16-to-14.

...and sometimes a fast break can get started on defense. Brandon Koch with the steal and he is already in high gear. The defending champs were in a decent spot...ahead 18-to-14, after the first 8 minutes.

Second quarter...East would find themselves down 6 and needed to snap out of it...Zach McCord will get his game going...he had a lot of points as well, and his boys trail 20-to-16.

The senior was putting on some moves...and he had to put a few extra on this highlight to shake a defender. He did what he had to do, to make his contributions. The deficit is still at 4...it's 23-to-19.

Gillette was still turning a few baskets off of turnovers...Koch is gong to rush in and get his squad out of a jam, and keep the lead in their favor...ahead 25-to-19.

The Thunderbirds would rely on their leaders to bring them back...Oliver contributed with 21, and he did more than his share, which is not a bad thing. His team still trails by 2...it's 27-to-25.

We have not seen many long balls in this game, but it was only a matter of time, before someone tried. Hays poured in a dozen, and that 3 was big, because it raised a few eyebrows. The Camels are up 8, with the scoreboard reading 35-to-27.

The opposition could use one of those themselves...Oliver was more than happy to provide...3-ball in the side pocket and that would get the home team back to within striking distance...down 35-32 going into the locker room.

3rd quarter...turnovers were still resulting in points for the visitors...Nelson thought about doing it all himself, but he wanted to make sure Trey Larson got in on the highlight reel. The advantage is still in their squad's favor...37-to-32 is the score.

Coming into this game...Gillette was unranked for the first time in a very long time...and I think they took it a little personal. Miessler from wayyy downtown. He had a 15 point night and the lead is back up to 8. It's a 42-to-34 affair.

Then the mistakes started going the other way...no one home on the inbounds..Tyler Peeples was not about to pass up this opportunity. That was a spark that the home team needed, although they still trail 42-to-38.

The Camels needed a momentum killer...Miessler says no worries I got this. He would get the bounce and the drop for 3, to swing the pendulum back the other way. It's now a 45-to-38 contest.

That did not deter East...their big guns were still loading up. McCord pulls the cord and connects...he led all scorers with 24 points...now if only his squad could build off of it. They were down 50-to-45, going into the final 8 minutes.

4th quarter...The T-birds needed to make a move soon and get a few shots to go in. The first try was no good, but McCord had a little more distance on this try and it's good for 3...now things are getting interesting. The score would eventually get knotted up at 52-all.

...but the opposition was not going to give up the lead without a fight...and Miessler still had a very hot hand. This is NBA range and he is on fire! That could not have come at a better time. The tie is broken and it's 55-to-52.

His team-mates would take a cue and give it a shot themselves....Nelson would turn up the temperature a few degrees and drop in his own 3...now it's a 2 possession game, with the score at 58-to-54.

This game is not over though...the home team still had a few more plays to run...Conner Leihsing gets behind his defender and gets an easy bucket. That would keep it close...60-to-58 is what we have now.

The game was getting to the point that whichever team could knock down their free throws late was going to win. Gillette had a few big misses, and the Thunderbirds were finding way to get to the line to give themselves a chance to score with the clock stopped.

13 seconds to go...the home team has been trailing for a very long time...Leihsing knocks down 2 big free throws, and finally they are back on top. The potential is there, for this game to end on a really big play.

6 seconds remaining...we moved the camera to the other end of the court...Gillette will take anything...Larson is going for broke...no good. Peeples grabs the rebound and just barely stays in-bounds. There's the buzzer and this game is over.

East probably got a bigger fight than they were expecting, but they would survive a scare in the Thunder Dome...67-to-66.