Pirates walk the plank after Stewart's pressure-packed free throws

BY ED WRIGHT
March 3, 2010, 1:35 a.m.

  The scenario is re-enacted on driveway basketball courts and with Nerf hoops around the country every night: nine seconds left, your team trails by one and your standing at the free throw line with a one-and-one opportunity.

  That's the scenario Salem sophomore forward Tyler Stewart faced Tuesday night, although he wasn't holding a Nerf ball and he wasn't standing in his driveway.

  In one of the most pressure-packed situations a young basketball player can face, Stewart more than met the challenge, draining two free throws to lift the Rocks to a dramatic 45-44 victory at Pinckney.

  The Pirates nearly offset Stewart's heroics with a last-second alley-oop play, but bounced out of harm's way as the buzzer sounded.

  The win evened Salem's regular season-ending record at 10-10. Pinckney slipped to 9-11.

  "Tyler was fouled on a mid-range jumper, but they said he was on the floor, so he only got a one-and-one," Salem coach Bob Brodie explained. "He stepped up there and calmly sank both free throws."

  Brodie said Pinckney was almost a mirror image of his own team, thus the nail-biting final result.

  "They have a couple of nice post players and their guards are very scrappy," Brodie said. "They're very similar to us."

  Stewart may have sealed the Rocks' win, but it was senior Jake Peterson who led them to that point. The 6-foot-5 post player recorded 12 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots.

  "Jake had a solid, all-around game," Brodie raved. "He did a nice job tonight."

  Stewart finished with 11 points. The next highest scorer was Ethan Walsh, who finished with seven points and four boards.

  Three players tallied nine points a piece for the Pirates.

  Salem led 30-22 at the half, but scored just three third-quarter points and went into the fourth quarter deadlocked at 33-all.

  Pinckney worked its lead up to six before Salem eventually chipped away and won it at the wire on Stewart's pair of free throws.

  Salem opens Class A District play Monday against Canton at Novi High School. The opening tip is set for 5 p.m. The two teams split their pair of games this season.