Meadows boys earn spot in Class 2A playoffs

With a playoff spot up for grabs Tuesday night, The Meadows’ boys basketball team was counting on a big effort from Garrett Gosse.

The junior forward came through to help the Mustangs clinch the fourth and final seed in the Class 2A Southern League postseason. Gosse had 31 points and eight rebounds as The Meadows held on for a 68-64 victory at Mountain View, which was eliminated from playoff contention.

“We knew we had to step up and win this one. It was do-or-die,” Gosse said. “We knew it was going to be a big crowd and they were going to bring it. I’m just glad we stuck it out for the win.”

If it had lost, The Meadows (14-8, 8-5 2A Southern) would have needed to win its regular-season finale at Lincoln County on Friday and do some scoreboard watching to sweat it out for the league’s final playoff spot.

“For us, the playoffs began tonight,” Mustangs coach Gary Hannig said. “That was our message all week in practice. We knew it was going to be a playoff-type game. The kids played hard, and we’re back in the playoffs where we belong. That’s where we expect to be every year.”

The Meadows built a 19-point fourth quarter lead before holding off a furious comeback by Mountain View (11-14, 6-7).

Justyn Anderson sank two free throws with 1:46 remaining to pull the Saints within 62-57, but Gosse answered with a layup in transition to help the Mustangs hold on.

In the final home game of his prolific four-year varsity career, Anderson scored 21 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter. The point guard made all eight of his free throws as part of an 18-4 run.

“That kid’s an unbelievable basketball player,” Hannig said of Anderson, who added five steals and three assists. “He just didn’t want to lose. But we made a couple layups in transition against their press, and that kind of helped seal the game.”

Junior point guard Max Newman supplied 10 points and five assists for The Meadows, which has won five of its past six games.

“Momentum’s going to help us a lot,” Gosse said. “Hopefully it’s going to carry over and we’ll be a dangerous team come playoff time.”

Braxton Matthews had 10 points and five rebounds for Mountain View, which suffered its fourth straight defeat.