PEA RIDGE — Elkins held off a late Gravette rally Wednesday night to defeat the Lions 56-51 in the Northwest Arkansas Invitational Tournament.
Gravette had more offensive success in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter when Cody Montee and Clayton Alexander drained 3-pointers to cut Elkins’ lead to only two points.
But with four treys from the Elks and two secondhalf layups from Jones, the Elks held on for the victory.
Gentry 51 Decatur 15
GIRLS - Gentry made quick work Wednesday night to advance in the tournament with a 51-15 mercy-rule victory over Decatur.
Led by a game-high 11 points from Terra Jones, the Lady Pioneers jumped out to a 16-4 lead over Decatur in the first quarter and never looked back.
Decatur, which was led with seven points from junior Sammy Jo Thompson, scored only eight points in the first half.
Meanwhile, Gentry continued to have offensive success, outscoring Decatur 24-11 in the second half.
Gentry 56 Hartford 22
GIRLS - The Lady Pioneers dominated Hartford from the very beginning of tournament play on Thursday at Pea Ridge.
By the end of the first quarter, Gentry was up 17 to 2, and the Lady Pioneers built on that lead through the third quarter, being up 52-16.
Terra Jones led the scoring for Gentry with 19 points in the 56-22 win.
Gentry 61 Booneville 25
BOYS - Gentry overcame an early Booneville rally Wednesday night to defeat the Bearcats 61-25.
Gentry advanced to the tournament’s second round and to play Pea Ridge on Friday.
The Pioneers (2-3) led by 12 points before the Bearcats rallied to cut Gentry’s lead to only two midway through the first half.
Gentry, however, responded with an uptempo style to pull away from Booneville down the stretch and claim the victory.
Joe Morris led the Pioneers with 18 points.
Siloam Springs 61 Gravette 42
GIRLS - Gravette’s Lady Lions dropped their semi-final game to the Siloam Springs Lady Panthers Friday night in the Northwest Invitational Tournament held at Pea Ridge.
Gravette had advanced to the semi-finals by virtue of a 41-34 win over Elkins earlier in the week.
Siloam Springs took the 61-42 win after building a37-19 half-time score.
Shyanne Nichols was the only Gravette player scoring in double digits with 12 points. Samantha Vanotterloo had 8.
The Siloam Springs Girls went on to win the tournament with a win over Gentry in the finals Saturday.
Gravette 51 Elkins 56
BOYS - In boys’ action, Gravette Lions dropped a 56-51 hardfought game to the Elkins Elks Wednesday night. After trailing much of the game, the Lions came within two points of catching the Washington County team in the fourth quarter, but the rally fell short.
Elkins later lost to the Siloam Springs boys’ team which won the tourney title by defeating Pea Ridge 67-57.
Gravette returns to a regular schedule, journeying to Pea Ridge Tuesday night (after press time) and traveling to Prairie Grove Friday night and to Greenland next Monday.
Siloam Springs 63 Gentry 44
GIRLS - Gentry fell to Siloam Springs in the championship game of the tournament at Pea Ridge on Saturday.
Courtney Millsap led the Lady Pioneers in scoring with 19 point. Terra Jones added another 15. But the effort wasn’t enough to keep up with the Lady Panthers.
“We had the size but they definitely had the quickness,” Siloam coach Debbie Sharp said. “I knew it was a gamble on whether or not we could press them because they are such good ball-handlers, but we thought we could create a little bit of trouble with our length, with our front three especially. That was the tone we wanted to set for the game.”
Gentry’s loss was its first this year after a 7-0 start.
“I didn’t know how we would respond to their length because we haven’t seen that this year and I was a little disappointed in how we handled it,” Gentry coach Tim Rippy said. “Really, throughout the game it caused some problems. We were prepared for where they were going to be but we can’t simulate that in practice. We were a little shaky.”
Gentry 63 Elkins 38
BOYS - The Pioneers picked up a big win over the Elks on Saturday, 63-38.
Gentry jumped ahead in the first quarter and was up 27-16 at the half. Elkins played a stronger third quarter, picking up 15 points to Gentry’s 16, but the attempted comeback was short-lived and Gentry further widened the gap in the final quarter of play.
Joe Morris led Gentry in scoring, picking up 24 points in the game. Austin Millsap added 12, and Kevin Scherer put in another 10 under the basket.
Sports, Pages 9 on 12/08/2010