Norwood rallies late to beat Mountain Grove

The Mountain Grove Panthers had a 17-point lead at one time in the third quarter against Norwood last Friday night in the Family Pharmacy Panther Classic.
The Pirates defense responded as the Panthers turned the ball over 14 times in the second half, helping Norwood rally in the fourth quarter for a 63-58 victory.
Mountain Grove led by five midway through the final frame after Aden Estep’s pair of free throws.
Carson Vaughan then assisted Laken Coatney for a score with three minutes left, cutting the lead to one.
Brady Vaughan added an assist to Carder Kelly with a 3-pointer near the two minute mark to give Norwood a two-point edge.
After the Panthers’ Kale Gardner tied the game at 58-58, Norwood ended the contest on a 5-0 run to seal the victory.
Early in the game, Mountain Grove made 6-of-9 early shots from the field to open up a 10-point lead.
The Pirates ended the quarter with Kelly’s 3-point play to cut the lead to nine.
Kale Gardner had his own 5-0 run to start the second quarter to go up 14 before Norwood’s answered with five straight.
He would then add a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give his squad a 32-21 lead at the break.
The Panthers’ offense made 12-of-23 shots from the field in the first half.
Andrew Bradshaw paced Norwood in the third quarter with three, 3-pointers and 13 total points as the Pirates would make it just a four-point game before they completed the rally in the final frame.
Bradshaw led the Pirates with a team-high 18 points, two blocks, two assists, two rebounds and one steal.
Kelly tallied 13 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists; Pierce Lawson had 10 points,four assists, three rebounds and one steal; Remington Hill had nine points, two assists and one rebound; Brady Vaughan scored six points, three rebounds, one steal and one assist; Laken Coatney had four points, one rebound, one steal and one assist; Hunner Finch added two points and four rebounds; while Carson Vaughan had one point and one assist.
Kale Gardner led the Panthers with 23 points, eight rebounds, three steals, two assists and one block; Eli Golden had 10 points, three rebounds, two steals and one assist; Brody Emery had 10 points, seven rebounds and one assist; Aden Estep had nine points, two rebounds two assists, two steals and one block; Bret Gardner scored four points and four rebounds; and Dalton Shanon had two points.
Before that win, the Pirates defeated Link Academy, 58-50, the same team that went on to beat Hartville a day after falling to Norwood.
Kelly came up big in the second quarter with eight of the Pirates’ 16 points to give Norwood a 26-21 halftime edge.
Link Academy rallied in the third quarter with a 19-13 run to go up one.
Kelly would seal the win at the free throw line in the fourth quarter after making 9-of-12 from the charity stripe.
He scored a team-high 33 points,
Bradshaw added 11 points; Lawson scored five; Coatney had four, Hill added three; and Carson Vaughan had two points.
Due to the weather, the tournament became a round robin event. That being said, the Pirates were the only team to finish the Classic with two victories. This coming in a field that featured Hartville, West Plains, Mountain Grove, Link Academy and Thayer.