Just one more win and the Trojans will be playing in the state championship next week in Columbia against the Lower State champion. But the schedule has the first order of business blotted in for tonight. Northwestern travels to Greenville's BI-LO Center to play familiar foe Gaffney at 8:30 p.m. for the Upper State championship in the Trojans'historic journey.
"Yes, you'd figure one of our past teams would have been there," Gossett said. "I've heard all kinds of good stories about Lindberg Moody, that he was a great coach, that everyone loved him and how he got the basketball program off to a good start.
"To have my name even mentioned with his is an honor. I came here 15 years to ago to continue what had already been established. This year's team, I can't say enough about how much I enjoy coaching them. It's a great group."
Moody was Northwestern's first coach and led the Trojans to a 129-66 record. Coach Moody died in a car accident on June 25, 1980.
Gossett has been this far before. He coached at Strom Thurmond before coming to Northwestern and took the Rebels to two Class AAA Lower State championship games. Both ended in losses, the first to the Jermaine O'Neal-led Eau Claire, the second to Burke, which was led by Melvin Watson, a former South Carolina Gamecocks standout and an assistant coach and teacher at South Pointe.
The final four in the Upper State included the top three teams from Region 3-AAAA, -- Gaffney, Northwestern and Clover -- so it's no surprise that two teams from the region are squaring off tonight.
Gaffney, 23-2 and the region champ, advanced with a 65-55 win over Hillcrest on Tuesday. Northwestern, 19-8 and second in the region, got here by knocking off third-place Clover, 47-42.
In its two region meetings, Gaffney beat Northwestern the first time 75-61, the second 56-51. Northwestern's close loss came down to the two things that have haunted the Trojans, turnovers and missed free throws.
"We've got to take care of the ball this time, and we've got to convert from the line," Gossett said. "If we can do both of those things, I think we have a good chance to win.
"I coached against the Gaffney state championship teams that had A.Z. Reid and Sidney Rice and they dared you to bring the ball at them. This year's team is a lot less power and a lot more attacking at all times."
Two Trojans, guards Kevin Keene, a sophomore, and Brandon Williams, a junior, will be relied on to counter Gaffney's pressure and to get the ball inside to the Northwestern power game of Cordarrelle Patterson, Labris Adams and Chris Belton.
"To beat Gaffney, we can't slack up on defense," Keene said. "We have a lot of respect for Gaffney and they are a very good team, but we have an opportunity to win this game if we play well.
"If Cordarrelle plays like he did against Clover, if Chris helps him on the boards and scoring, and if I can get the ball to Labris and let them shoot, we have a chance. I'm excited, so excited that I've been dancing and singing in the shower since we beat Clover on Tuesday. I want to go to the (championship) in Columbia."
Keene was correct on his scouting report, but it comes back to protecting the ball and shooting free throws. The Trojans can't go 0-10 from the line as they did against Clover before making their final three to seal the outcome.
Northwestern can score and plays good defense, but it comes down to cutting down on blown opportunities.
Williams said the atmosphere around school has been great. He's seen the football team, the boys soccer team and the cross country teams get their share of attention in his three years at Northwestern.
He played on the Trojans' football team that lost to South Pointe in the Class AAAA Division II championship game. Williams is pleased to see that the student body is getting behind the basketball team.
"It's our first time getting this far, and people at school who I don't know are walking up to me and asking about our team," Williams said. "You can tell they really want us to win, that the school spirit is there.
"We had some rough spots this season, but we are playing a lot better when it counts the most. We've come a long way and our goal is to get to Columbia and not be satisfied unless we are holding the big trophy above our heads."
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