GRAVETTE — Nine o’clock last Saturday night was the “watching hour” for the Gravette Lions as they toppled the top seed Shiloh Christian Saints 70-57 in the finals of the District 4A-1 tournament.

Lion Fieldhouse rocked and roared as the Lions overcame a 14-16 first- quarter deficit as the Lions came back strong in the second quarter, outscoring the Saints and taking a 35-30 lead to the locker room.

Having dropped regular season games to the favored Saints, the Lions were not to be denied as they continued their dominance through the last two quarters.

Shiloh managed to pull within three points in the third quarter, but a stiff Lion defense and a scoring barrage saw the home team extend their lead to 51-43 entering the final eight minutes of play.

The game ended on the 70-57 score at almost the nine o’clock hour as fans poured onto the court following the trophy presentation.

Terence Pierce pumped 35 points through the netto lead all scoring, with Carson Pollreis hitting 19. Adding to the Lions final tally were Dallas Kerley with 8, Jeremy McGarrah5, Matt VanOtterloo 2 and Cody Nims 1.

The Lions meet Dardanelle in the opening round of regionals thisWednesday at Ozark, at 5:30 p.m. A victory there will propel the Lions into the state tournament.

The Lions, seeded thirdin the district tournament, won their first game against Ozark 47-44 last Wednesday, toppled second seed Berryville 56-35on Friday as Pierce had 25 points and Carson Pollreis had 16. This led to the finals against the Saints.

Sports, Pages 7 on 02/22/2012