Guard deliver last-second win over Tyler Grace in district opener

Brook Hill looked to be headed toward defeat in its TAPPS District 3-5A opener Friday at Herrington Gymnasium. When it mattered most, the Guard answered the call — first on offense and then on defense — to grab a 39-38 victory.

Brook Hill’s Alec Kitt drained a 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining, which gave the Guard their first lead since the first half, 39-38.

The visitors from had one chance to answer, but were denied when Brook Hill’s Reid Hill stepped in to take a charge with three seconds left.

That gave Brook Hill the ball back and the Guard ran out the clock.

“It was an ugly firs 29 minutes, but a great last three minutes for us,” Guard coach Jacob Agnew said. “We struggled shooting the ball, but the kids never quit fighting.”

Kitt finished with a team-high 13 points with Hill delivering 11 for the Guard.

Brook Hill was coming off a victory against Big Sandy in a non-district game earlier in the week and used that momentum in the first quarter, building a 13-7 lead over Grace.

The shots stopped falling after that. Brook Hill was outscored 14-6 in the second quarter to trail 21-19 at halftime, and made just one basket in the third quarter with Grace outscoring the Guard 12-2.

That meant Brook Hill began the fourth quarter trailing 33-21. The Guard went to work methodically slicing away their deficit.

With time running out and Brook Hill still trailing 38-36, the Guard sent Grace to the free-throw line to stop the clock with 20 seconds left.

The free throw was missed, enabling Brook Hill to rebound and set up Kitt’s 3-point shot. Hill’s charge then made sure of the victory and a 1-0 district start.

“I was proud of how we didn’t quit and got a big district win,” Coach Agnew said.

Brook Hill (9-10 overall) returns to league action on Friday against Tyler Bishop Gorman. Varsity tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.at Gorman’s Haddad Gymnasium.

GUARD STATS

Brook Hill 39, Grace Community 38

Grace         7   14   12   5  —  38

Brook Hill   13   6   2   18  —  39

Scoring (39): Alec Kitt 13, Jordan Day 7, Reid Hill 11, Miguel Vega 4, Parker Galbraith 4

3-Pointers (4): Reid Hill 3, Alec Kitt 1