GRAVETTE — When Matt VanOtterloo drilled a 3-pointer from the corner to give Gravette a lead in its biggest game of the season, Lions boys basketball coach Dustin Peters wasn’t surprised.

The 6-foot junior hit what turned out to be the gamewinning shot with 1 minute, 26 seconds left in the 4A-1 District Tournament quarterfinal against Ozark. The Lions (20-8) used the clutch victory to propel them to the tournament title, bumping off top-seeded Shiloh Christian by double-digits in the Feb. 18 final.

“He’s our rock,” Peters said. “He’s just such a stabilizing factor for us.”

VanOtterloo has made big plays all season for the Lions.

VanOtterloo’s imprint on the Lions isn’t about filling up the scoring column on the state sheet. Even he said making a big shot was unusual.

“I haven’t had many of those in my career,” VanOtterloo said. “I’m more of taking control as a leaderand distributing the ball.”

Peters said his point guard “makes us go.”

“He’s a guy who defers to everybody else usually when it comes to scoring,” Peters said. “But he’s not afraid to take the shot if we need it.”

He averages just 7.5 points per game, but leads the team with 3.9 assists and 2.8 steals. In addition VanOtterloo also averages 5.3 rebounds per game, which ranks third on the team.

There’s no doubt VanOtterloo’s contribution was huge to the Lions run to the district title, Peters said. But he admitted his point guard didn’t play very well overall against Ozark.

“He only had six points and turned it over more than he usually does,” Peters said. “But he didn’t let that affect him. When he got the ball there late, therewasn’t any hesitation.”

His leadership and resiliency in that game is a great example of his contribution to the team, Peters said.

“The way he carries himself, he doesn’t say much, he just stays under control no matter if we’re up ordown,” Peters said. “He’s an extremely mentally tough kid. He’s an intelligent kid and a good Christian leader for our guys.”

Teammate Cody Nims, the team’s best on-ball defender, said the Lions have just a certain comfort level with VanOtterloo at the controls.

“We’re used to him being to the point guard,” Nims said. “He just sets a good tempo and he’s a very unselfish basketball player. He makes big plays for us over and over.”

Nims also said VanOtterloo’s attitude has contributed to strong team chemistry for the Lions this season.

“It’s contagious,” Nims said. “Everybody wants to make that extra pass.”

VanOtterloo said it’s just a case of him understanding his role, which Peters saidwill change some next year.

“He’s going to have to score more for us next year,” Peters said. “He does all the dirty stuff. None of our kids want to go against him defensively in practice.”

Doing the little things is what VanOtterloo does best. But when called upon for a clutch shot to keep his team’sseason alive, he’s pretty good at the big things too.

Sports, Pages 10 on 02/29/2012