A block by Verlo Levels dropped into the hands of 6-4 sophomore Trevor Gunter, who put his head down and took off down the court.
With his coach screaming at him to pass it, Gunter drove to the hoop, threw up a shot and was slammed to the floor as the whistle blew.
The ball fell through the hoop, lifting an excited Grace Community bench to its feet and propelling the Cougars to a 43-40 victory over Bullard Brook Hill on Thursday at Bruce G. Brookshire Family Student Athletic Center.
Though Gunter hurt his back and could not shoot the ensuing free throw, he put the Cougars (5-1) up 41-36 with 1:20 to play and Grace survived a couple last-second 3-point attempts by the Guard (1-1) to advance to the winner's bracket of the Bruce G. Brookshire Basketball Classic.
"I'm glad he didn't listen to me and got that and-one," Grace coach Neal Welch said of Gunter, who returned to the game moments later. "It was a great win for our team."
Gunter finished with nine points and 10 rebounds while Levels, a junior, had 11 points, 14 rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Senior Blake Johnson led Grace with 14 points, draining four of nine from beyond the arc.
Grant Hanks hit for 14 points and freshman Alex Hale had 11 points and 10 rebounds to lead Brook Hill. Phillip Kitt added 11 boards.
The Cougars shot 27 percent for the game, including 5 for 27 from long range. However, the Guard hit on 26 percent from the field and 1 of 13 on 3-pointers. Rebound (44-40) and turnover (15-14) stats both favored Grace.
"We did the little things to get the win and I'm proud of my guys for it," Welch said.
The Guard never trailed in the first half. Their largest lead, at 18-10, was erased in three minutes by an 8-0 run from the Cougars, who didn't take their first lead until 5:21 left in the third.
Grace never trailed in the fourth, though Brook Hill tied the game at 34 with 2:49 left. The Cougars responded with a 7-0 run capped by Gunter's coast-to-coast layup.
"Our motto for our team is WPH, which stands for ‘We Play Harder,'" Welch said. "We really believe that we're going to play harder than every team we play against, regardless of what that other team throws out there."
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All Saints 71, Frisco Legacy 34
The host All Saints Trojans opened their defense of last year's Brookshire Classic title with a 71-34 win over Frisco Legacy.
Aston Francis drilled four treys on his way to a game-high 19 points for the Trojans, who play Ovilla Christian at 4:30 p.m. today. Luke Lee added 12 for All Saints.
Rhett Allen led the Eagles (4-2) with 11 points.
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Girls
Bishop Gorman 76, Frisco Legacy 25
Coming off the team's first two losses of the season, Bishop Gorman coach Katie Robertson laid out two areas for the Lady Crusaders to work on: winning the first quarter and rebounding.
In a resounding 76-25 victory over Frisco Legacy Christian, Gorman accomplished both.
In giving the Lady Eagles (4-1) their first loss, the Lady Crusaders (6-2) jumped out to a 12-0 lead halfway through the first quarter. Brooke Lee scored the game's first eight points on layups, including one off the tip before the clock operator even started the scoreboard.
On the glass, Gorman held a 41-28 advantage, including 26-13 in the first half.
"We were coming off those two losses against Martins Mill and Liberty-Eylau, which is really tough competition, so I think that humbled us a little bit to see parts of the game that we need to work on," said Robertson, whose team has state title aspirations after reaching the final four last year.
Michelle Obach tallied 22 points and nine steals to lead the Lady Crusaders, who have won all four Brookshire Classics. Allie Buzbee added 13 points, Lee finished with 12 and Susannah Williams chipped in 11. Danielle Smith led Gorman with nine rebounds.
Tiffany Dunlap scored 11 to pace Frisco Legacy, which struggled shooting. The Lady Eagles shot 24 percent and missed all five free throws. Meanwhile the Lady Crusaders' ball movement led to 15 layups (seven in the first quarter) and 50 percent shooting.
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Van 44, Grace Community 31
Van's defense, and enough offense from Hallee Carter and Bri Thompson, kept the Lady Vandals undefeated.
Van held the Grace Lady Cougars to 23 percent shooting while forcing 25 turnovers and outrebounding Grace by 12 en route to a 44-31 victory.
The Lady Vandals (6-0) jumped to an 8-1 lead and led by as many as 16 in the second half. Carter had 20 points and nine rebounds and Thompson added 13 points and 17 boards.
Taylor Kingsley led the Lady Cougars with 10 points, but shot 3 of 12 from long range. Rebekah Provines was next with six points, six rebounds and three steals.
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Bruce G. Brookshire Basketball Classic
At All Saints' Bruce G. Brookshire Family Student Athletic Center
Girls Bracket
Thursday
Van 44, Grace Community 31
Bishop Gorman 76, Frisco Legacy 25
Austin Brentwood 47, Ovilla Christian 31
Friday
Game 4: Houston St. Thomas vs. All Saints, noon
Game 5: Grace vs. Frisco Legacy, 9 a.m.
Game 6: Van vs. Gorman, 3 p.m.
Game 7: Ovilla vs. Loser Game 4, 6 p.m. (Auxiliary)
Game 8: Brentwood vs. Winner Game 4, 6 p.m.
Saturday
Game 9: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 7, 9 a.m. (Auxiliary), Seventh-Place Game
Game 10: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 7, 9 a.m., Fifth-Place Game
Game 11: Loser Game 6 vs. Loser Game 8, noon, Third-Place Game
Game 12: Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 8, 3 p.m., Championship
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Boys Bracket
Thursday
Grace Community 43, Bullard Brook Hill 40
Ovilla Christian 46, Austin Brentwood 45
All Saints 71, Frisco Legacy 34
Friday
Game 4: Brentwood vs. Legacy, 10:30 a.m.
Game 5: Houston St. Thomas vs. Corsicana, 1:30 p.m.
Game 6: Ovilla vs. All Saints, 4:30 p.m.
Game 7: Brook Hill vs. Loser Game 5, 7:30 p.m. (Auxiliary)
Game 8: Grace vs. Winner Game 5, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
Game 9: Loser Game 4 vs. Loser Game 7, 10:30 a.m. (Auxiliary), Seventh-Place Game
Game 10: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 7, 10:30 a.m., Fifth-Place Game
Game 11: Loser Game 6 vs. Loser Game 8, 1:30 p.m., Third-Place Game
Game 12: Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 8, 4:30 p.m., Championship
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Girls Box Scores
Game 1
Van 44, Grace Community 31
Grace 8 7 8 8 — 31
Van 16 8 10 10 — 44
GRACE — Rebekah Provines, 6; Bethany Kimmey, 0; Megan Raborar, 5; Catherine Rook, 5; Kandice West, 0; Parker Daughtry, 1; Kylie Stinson, 4; Leah Edwards, 0; Taylor Kingsley, 10. FG: 12-53. FT: 2-7.
VAN — Ashlin Lovett, 2; Hayle Walker, 0; Lexi Yowell, 0; Rebekah Rogers, 0; Hallee Carter, 20; Ivee Sutton, 0; Aria Johns, 7; Bri Thompson, 13; Taylor Preston, 0; LaShannae Jones, 2. FG: 19-55. Ft: 6-10.
THREE POINT GOALS — GC (5-18): Raborar, Rook, Kingsley (3). V (0-1): none.
RECORDS — Grace 3-6; Van 6-0.
———
Game 2
Bishop Gorman 76, Frisco Legacy 25
Gorman 21 23 16 16 — 76
Legacy 4 6 10 5 — 25
GORMAN — Brooke Lee, 12; Allie Buzbee, 13; Michelle Obach, 22; Mandie VanderVorste, 0; Laura Meads, 7; Susannah Williams, 11; Hannah Sattler, 4; Danielle Smith, 4; Courtney Fergerson, 0; Abbie Guevara, 3.. FG: 34-68. FT: 5-11.
LEGACY — Anne Drew Allen, 2; Grace McCullough, 0; Lauren Buffington, 2; Izzy Rosado, 0; Megan Beck, 8; Kristin Yates, 0; Tiffany Dunlap, 11; McKenzie Gardner, 0; Maddie Mannschreck, 0; Lindsey Eisenmann, 0; Samantha Sepcic, 0; Taylor Denton, 2; Stephanie Lewis, 0. FG: 12-49. FT: 0-5.
THREE POINT GOALS — BG (3-6): Obach, Buzbee, Guevara. FL (1-7): Dunlap.
RECORDS — Gorman 6-2; Legacy 4-1.
———
Game 3
Austin Brentwood 47, Ovilla Christian 31
Brentwood 17 11 6 13 — 47
Ovilla 11 8 4 8 — 31
BRENTWOOD — Rachel Orick, 0; Keely Hardin, 11; Ariana Marks, 22; Brooklyn Merkord, 2; Masha Heins, 0; Morgan Vandygriff, 6; Kaylie Angello, 0; Nicole Glenn, 4; Priscilla Glenn, 0; Mackenzie Merkord, 2; Christina Onabajo, 0; Lanae Hollingsworth, 0; Megan Burcham, 0.
OVILLA — Rachel Morales, 2; Bailey Case, 2; Michelle Reyes, 0; Sarah Simmons, 1; Hannah Oakes, 2; Whitney Bond, 0; Emily Burton, 12; Lauren Albright, 12.
THREE POINT GOALS — AB: Marks (2). OC: Albright.
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Boys Box Scores
Game 1
Grace Community 43, Bullard Brook Hill 40
Brook Hill 14 8 6 12 — 40
Grace 8 12 9 14 — 43
BROOK HILL — Alex Hale, 11; Grant Hanks, 14; Luke Humphries, 0; Josh Heingartner, 0; Chase McDermott, 2; Phillip Kitt, 6; Bryant Robinson, 2; Andrew Swink, 5. FG: 14-53. FT: 11-17.
GRACE — Blake Hendricks, 0; Verlo Levels, 11; Trevor Gunter, 9; Blake Johnson, 14; Phillip McKinney, 4; Ben O'Neill, 0; Andrew Melhart, 3; Levi Crozier, 0; Nic Negem, 0; Call Florence, 0; Zac Roark, 0; Thomas Nance, 2; Tanner Starr, 0. FG: 17-63. FT: 4-9.
THREE POINT GOALS — BH (1-13): Swink. GC (5-27): Johnson (4), Melhart.
RECORDS — Brook Hill 1-1; Grace 5-1.
———
Game 2
Ovilla Christian 46, Austin Brentwood 45
Ovilla 9 13 9 15 — 46
Brentwood 16 10 7 12 — 45
OVILLA — Cameron Stephens, 13; Jackson Glenn, 0; Jack Gaubert, 0; Griffin Glenn, 16; Jimmy Pogue, 2; Hunter Thomas, 0; Aaron Morales, 2; Micah Murphy, 2; Jacob Webb, 0; Mitchell Todd, 0; Matt Humphrey, 2; Tyler Welch, 9; Lucas Chester, 0.
BRENTWOOD — Wyatt Allee, 0; Cody Hunt, 7; Matthew Archer, 27; Jacob Peyton, 5; Wes Mory, 0; David Powers, 0; Kent Howell, 6.
THREE POINT GOALS — OC: Stephens (2), G. Glenn. AB: Hunt, Archer (5).
———
Game 3
All Saints 71, Frisco Legacy 34
Legacy 5 11 9 9 — 34
All Saints 28 16 14 13 — 71
LEGACY — Rhett Allen, 11; Holt Thompson, 4; Jacob Eisenmann, 2; Riley Chapman, 9; Conner Guetersloh, 6; Maret McElreath, 2.
ALL SAINTS — Trevor Long, 4; Aston Francis, 19; Collin Walker, 5; William Alexander, 2; Ruben DeLong, 5; Luke Lee, 12; Matt Brunson, 5; Spencer Ball, 2; Jaired Maddox, 6; Cameron Huckabee, 5; Brice Borgeson, 6
THREE POINT GOALS — L: Allen. AS: Francis (4).
RECORDS — Legacy 4-2; All Saints 7-3.