JASPER, Tenn. – It was the type of moment that makes the countless afternoon practices spent preaching fundamentals all worth it. And Marion County boys’ basketball coach Chuck Keef wore the ear-to-ear grin to prove it.
Warriors sophomore Kane Hale connected on all six free throw attempts in the final 1:22, with his team needing each one, to help rally past Copper Basin for a 78-75 Region 3-A quarterfinal win Saturday night.
Hale scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half and made 11 of 13 free throws for the game.
“I preach that all the time at practice,” Keef said. “We work on free throws all the time, and he did a good job of making them with a lot of pressure on him. Our strategy in the second half was to get the ball to him, because he definitely had the hot hand.”
In a back-and-forth game with 11 lead changes, Marion County (18-7) found itself trailing by four with just less than two minutes remaining. But Matt Harveston nailed a 3-pointer from the corner, and after forcing a turnover, the Warriors regained the lead on a pair of Hale free throws.