DECATUR -- Gravette Lions defeated West Fork, 58-54, in the final round of the Decatur Holiday Hoops Tournament on Saturday to bring home the trophy and regain needed confidence for upcoming season games.
Dustin Morgan came up with one of the biggest plays of the game for Gravette. With West Fork down 3 and looking to tie, Morgan hustled to make a steal with 6.5 seconds left.
Kyle Fox made a free throw for Gravette with 5.1 to ice it.
"That was a game-winning play," Gravette coach Greg White said. "They'll remember (Morgan) made that great play when we needed it. It takes a total team effort and whether you play the whole game or just five minutes, it all counts."
Gravette came into the tournament with a 0-3 record, but won three straight games to walk away with the championship trophy.
Cole Turner scored 17 points in the second half and led Gravette (3-3) with 20 points. Jackson Soule' added 10 and Austin White, who was named tournament MVP, had eight.
The team lost by a combined total of 80 points to larger schools to start the season, but White said the Lions came together over the tournament week.
"We had a brutal schedule and with this my first year here they are getting used to me and I am getting used to them," White said. "But I couldn't be happier with their attitude and how we played this tournament. This is why I came here because I know these kids will work hard and want to win."
Cody Roebke scored 17 points for West Fork, Harrison Johnson added 15 and Ryan Roebke had 14.
Cody Roebke suffered a cut to his mouth in the fourth quarter and had to come out for treatment several times down the stretch.
SEMIFINALS
Gravette didn't blink despite being down by double digits in the second half.
The Lions rallied back to take a 52-50 win Thursday over previously unbeaten Lincoln in the semifinals of the Decatur Holiday Hoops Tournament.
"We started the season with a brutal schedule against bigger teams in Farmington, Springdale and Siloam Springs," Gravette coach Greg White said. "And we got beat by a total of 80 points. But the team has pulled together, and we are playing with a lot of heart."
Lincoln (4-1) led 33-18 early in the third quarter and was still up 43-31 early in the fourth.
"It would have been easy to fold up tents and quit," White said. "But we kept playing hard. We had a few guys come off the bench and give us some big minutes to let our starters rest a little bit."
Gravette kept grinding away and started a 15-2 run that finally pushed the Lions in front when Jackson Soule scored inside with 1 minute, 5 seconds remaining. Soule's only bucket put Gravette in front, 49-48.
A free throw from Zac Carlton gave Gravette a 52-50 lead with 11.4 seconds left. Lincoln had a chance to shoot for overtime or a game-winning 3-pointer but could only get off a rushed, off-balance three attempt by 6-foot, 9-inch Shandon Goldman at the buzzer.
Goldman scored 16 points for Lincoln, and Garrett Blankenship and Dalton Barnum both added 10 for the Wolves.
"Soule did a great job on defense against Goldman, especially in the fourth quarter," White said. "(Goldman) is the best player in our conference, and he's going to get his points. But Jackson did a good job on him when he had to and didn't let him get a good shot off."
Lincoln was disappointed in letting a chance to stay unbeaten and move to the tournament finals slip away.
"We just had too many breakdowns," Lincoln coach Tim Rich said. "Give Gravette credit. They stepped up their intensity in the fourth quarter and we didn't have an answer for it."
White said a switch in defense helped his team stop the Lincoln offense.
"We've been playing a lot of zone defense, but we came out with the man-to-man tonight," White said. "We got out and guarded some people and it helped the offense get going, too."
GIRLS
The West Fork girls defeated Gravette's girls, 52 to 28, in the second round of the tournament, ending the Lady Lions' hope of playing in the championship round.
Sports on 12/10/2014