Oney scores 14 as Gulfport takes down West Harrison, 48-39

GULFPORT - The Gulfport boys team closed out Tuesday night's game on an 8-3 run to pick up a 48-39 victory at West Harrison.

Keevon Oney scored a game high of 14 points to help the Admirals improve to 9-4.

The big difference in the game came on the defensive end for Gulfport, holding West Harrison to 29 percent shooting the ball.

"Defensively, we've got a chance to be the best team we've had," Gulfport coach Owen Miller said. "Opponents are shooting 36 percent against us. We do that pretty good."

West Harrison managed just four points in the first quarter and never quite caught up until cutting the Gulfport lead to 40-37 with 3:18 remaining.

"We just couldn't make a shot," Ray said. "We got good looks. We just couldn't make any. Our bigs played well. Our guards just didn't show up. That's pretty much the opposite of the way it's been all season."

DeAnthony Bowie and Gabriel Barber both contributed seven points as West Harrison dropped to 3-7.

West Harrison also did a good job on the defensive end, forcing 21 Gulfport turnovers.

"We've averaged 18, 19 on the year," Miller said. "They do a great job defensively. They're in the right places, but we're too careless. If we get that shored up, we have a chance."

Also scoring in double digits for Gulfport were Alton Conerly (11) and Raekwon Murphy (10).

Gulfport led the game 26-17 at the half and stretched the lead to 38-26 after three quarters.

When West Harrison senior William Roberts hit a free throw with 3:18 left, Gulfport led 40-37.

Gulfport senior point guard Tyrell McArthur helped the Admirals avoid the late collapse by coming off the bench with four fouls in the final moments.

Oney hit the last two baskets for Gulfport in the final 30 seconds of the game to close out the contest.

"We've hung in there in close games," Miller said. "We didn't get rattled. We hit some easy ones at the end to separate."

West Harrison travels to Mendenhall Friday while Gulfport will go to Meridian for a difficult road test.

This story was originally published December 15, 2015 at 10:44 PM with the headline "Oney scores 14 as Gulfport takes down West Harrison, 48-39 ."