RIMERSBURG - Adam Milanovich is a known commodity. So is Kyle Hilliard.

But Gary Cooper?

Coming into the game, the Union High School sophomore couldn't be distinguished from John Doe, scoring just 36 points all season.

Against Karns City (15-4, 10-1) Wednesday night, Cooper came off the bench and out of obscurity to score 27 points in the Golden Knights boys basketball team's 67-64 win over the Gremlins.

"Hello, Gary Cooper," said Union coach Karen Davis. "I think he's green, but he has so much potential. I haven't played him a lot this season, but he's a hard worker, and I kept telling him, 'You better be ready to go.'"

Cooper was more than ready to go in a pivotal game for Union and Karns City as he squared off with Gremlins' star Tyler Callihan. The only thing missing was high noon.

The win puts Union (15-4, 8-1) in a three-way battle with Karns City and Clarion for the Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference title. All three teams have one conference loss each.

Mr. Cooper can be thanked for that.

He did most of his damage in the second half, scoring 16 of his points in the final 16 minutes.

"That's what good teams need," said Karns City coach Steve Andreassi. "Good teams need a player to step up. I think if you even asked Coach Davis, it would have been a surprise to her. It was a surprise to us, but it still doesn't take away from the fact we didn't defend very well tonight."

Milanovich and Hilliard prepped Cooper for a game such as this in Tuesday's practice.

The seniors saw that Cooper could be dominant in practice at times but then become timid in games. They weren't going to let him keep doing that.

"We were teaching him how to keep his body wide," Hilliard said. "Tonight, he did that. Tonight, he played like he plays in practice."

And he almost matched Gremlins star Callihan point for point.

Callihan had 27 points in the first half as Karns City took a 38-28 lead at the break.

Whether it was spotting up for a 3-pointer at the top of the key or driving the lane for a layup, Union couldn't contain him.

"He's unbelievable," Davis said.

But Davis played Karns City differently in the second half, playing a sagging box-and-one on the Gremlins star with Cooper sitting in the middle to stop penetration.

Callihan had just eight points in the second half to finish with 35 points and 10 rebounds.

"We put Kyle (Hilliard) on him and tried to sag in when he took the ball to the hole," Davis said. "We were trying to do that in the first half, but they were calling us for a foul every time."

While Union contained Karns City's scoring in the second half, the offense hit its stride.

The Golden Knights went on a 14-4 run to tie the score at 42 in the third quarter and shot 12-of-16 from the floor in the frame. Union never trailed after that.

Hilliard also enjoyed a big third quarter, scoring 12 points on 6-of-6 shooting on his way to scoring 16 points in the game.

Union attacked Karns City on the inside in the second half effectively.

"Going inside has always been our game-plan," Davis said.

"I think we gave them a lot of easy shots in the second half," Andreassi said.

Karns City did manage to pull even at 64 with 30 seconds remaining, but Union's Cody Mortimer hit one of two free throws and Adam Milanovich was fouled after a steal with four seconds left and drained two foul shots to secure the win.

But Cooper was the pride of the Knights on this day.

"Who knew he was going to do that?" Milanovich asked.

KARNS CITY 64

David Black 1-7 0-0 2, Steve Black 1-3 1-2 3, Tyler Callihan 10-28 13-14 35, Nathan Knox 6-14 4-4 16, Mark Ferguson 3-8 0-0 6, Ryan Earley 1-4 0-2 2, Josh Fiscus 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 22-64 18-22 64

UNION 67

Gary Cooper 13-16 1-2 27, Devin Davis 1-5 1-3 3, Cody Mortimer 0-8 3-6 3, Toby Painter 1-7 1-2 3, Billy Burns 1-4 2-2 5, Adam Milanovich 3-10 4-6 10, Kyle Hilliard 8-17 0-0 16. Totals: 27-67 12-21 67

3-point goals:

Callihan 2, Burns

JV:

Union 56-23

Friday:

Rocky Grove @ Union; Cranberry @ Karns City