Net sizzles with 18 long range buckets

Tristen Gibson expects contact from Plattsburg’s James Steggall as he drives down the middle of the lane.

Tigers take Class 2, D15 title with late free throws
The Plattsburg Tigers hit of 7 of 10 free throws in the final 1:19 to secure a Class 2, District 15 championship victory over Gallatin Saturday night at Penney High School. With those charity tosses, the Tigers pulled away from a narrow 65-64 lead to down the Bulldogs, 72-69.
The #2 seeded Bulldogs led, 15-13, after the first quarter but a wild second period saw the Tigers tie the score, 34-34, at the break as Gallatin was forced to ration minutes of starters due to foul problems. Twenty-one of 40 combined points scored in the second quarter came from the 3-point arc as the Bulldogs more than matched 3 treys by the Tigers with long balls from Brinley Vandiver, Johnny Stout and Landon Corwin (2)
The Tigers kicked off the third quarter with a 9-0 run to go up, 43-34, but the Bulldogs responded with a 9-0 surge of their own, sparked by 2 more 3-balls from Vandiver. Plattsburg regained the momentum with 2 more long range balls and finished the period with a 50-45 advantage.
Eighteen of the final 20 field goal points combined by both teams came from 3-point distance.
An old-fashion 3-point play by Isaac Bird (field goal and free throw) pulled Gallatin to within 53-52 to begin fourth quarter action and the Bulldogs were able to stay within one possession of the lead until the Tigers put the game away at the foul line.
Bird capped his freshman season with 23 points on 75% shooting from the field. Vandiver contributed 12 points for the Bulldogs. Corwin and Tristen Gibson chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively, in their final games in Gallatin uniforms.
The Bulldogs finished the season with an 18-10 record. Four of their losses came at the hands of district champions (Princeton, Milan, Richmond, Plattsburg). Gallatin also lost twice to 19-win East Buchanan and to 20-win Lathrop.