Boys Hoops - Yough vs Mt Pleasant

February 04, 2020

Gamal Marballie buzzer-beater gives Yough 46-45 Senior Night win over Mt Pleasant

When Yough scheduled their boys basketball senior night celebration for Tuesday, February 4, against local Class 4A Section 1 foe Mount Pleasant, they must have put junior guard Gamal Marballie in charge of supplying the fireworks.

Trailing 45-40 with 44 seconds remaining, Marballie hit a 3-pointer with 23 seconds left to play in the game, then calmly followed it up with another as the clock hit all zeroes, giving the Cougars a 46-45 win over the visiting Vikings, to the delight of a large senior night crowd at Yough High School.

The game was competitive throughout, with several notable scoring swings in either direction. Yough held a 12-10 lead after the opening quarter, and stretched the margin to 26-18 at the half, largely on Marballie's 12-point second quarter performance.

But the Vikings came back out of the locker room on a mission, opening the third quarter on a 10-0 run and taking the lead before the Cougars scored to tie the game at 28 with 4- 1/2 minutes to play in the third. A Christian Park 3-pointer put the Cougars back in the lead, but 2 minutes later it was the Vikings back on top 33-31. A Mount Pleasant mini-run to end the quarter had the Vikings in the lead 38-32 with one quarter left to play.

The fourth quarter, as with the second, belonged to Gamal Marballie. Marballie and Josh O'Bradovich each hit a pair of field goals to close the gap on the Vikings, while Mount Pleasant was sent to the foul line several times with chances to pad their lead. The Vikings shot 10-for-14 from the line for the game, but only 3-of-6 in the fourht quarter, including missing the front end of a pair of one-and-one opportunities down the stretch. Still, the Vikings clung to a 45-40 lead with only 44 ticks left on the clock. But it was Marballie's one-man fireworks show that closed out senior night with a bang, as his pair of treys gave him 10 points in the final frame, and the Cougars savored an exciting victory over the Vikings.

Gamal Marballie led all scoring with 27, and Josh O'Bradovich also hit double digits with 11. Mount Pleasant was led by Luke Brandner with 14, and Jonas King chipped in for 12.

Yough (7-13, 2-8) has a quick turnaround as they travel to South Allegheny on 2/5 for a non-conference game. Mount Pleasant (11-10, 5-5) will host Geibel Catholic for a non-conference game on 2/7.

Watch this link for a full gallery of action photos available for purchase or sharing the day after the game.

Keywords: basketball, boys, high school, mount pleasant, westmoreland county, yough