Lions stick to game plan, beat Wolves 18-point run gives Gravette total control of contest against Lincoln on Dec. 16

Photo by Randy Moll Dustin Morgan, Gravette junior, goes up for two in play against Lincoln at Lion Fieldhouse on Dec. 16.
Photo by Randy Moll Dustin Morgan, Gravette junior, goes up for two in play against Lincoln at Lion Fieldhouse on Dec. 16.

GRAVETTE -- Greg White loved the way Gravette's boys stuck to his game plan Tuesday night, even when they had fallen behind early in the first quarter.

The Lions took control of the game with an 18-0 run in the first half, and White enjoyed a victory in his 4A-1 Conference debut as Gravette claimed a 64-57 victory against visiting Lincoln.

"I thought we stuck to the system very well and believed in each other," White said. "That was the key thing. We believed in the system and believed in our teammates.

"We knew we were in a fight since it was a conference game. Our kids bought into what we had asked them to do and did it even better than I could imagine against a team of that caliber. That was a good win for us."

Lincoln (5-4, 0-1) had a 14-7 lead after an Alec Pitts bucket with 1 minute, 57 seconds left in the first quarter, but the Wolves didn't score again until Pitts hit two free throws with 3 minutes before halftime. That was the crease Gravette needed to take control of the game.

Five different Lions scored during that run and built a 25-14 lead at that point. Jackson Soule, who blistered the nets with 31 points, ended the outburst with a floater that gave Gravette (5-4, 1-0) a 25-14 cushion.

"That's something that we are preaching," White said. "It has to be a team effort for us to win here. Guys are sharing the basketball, and there's nothing better than to see that happen."

Lincoln never fully recovered as Gravette took its biggest lead, 43-28, on Soule's bucket with 3:14 remaining in the third quarter. The Wolves pulled within 58-51 on a Garrett Blankenship three-point play with 1:08 remaining, only to have Soule hit four straight free throws and temporarily put the lead back into double digits.

"We just didn't get the job done," Lincoln coach Tim Rich said. "Put this one on me. I haven't got them working the way they need to be working, and we have to go back to practice and see if we can start executing what we talk about and put it out on the floor.

"I can talk about it all day. I have to find a way to get them to do it."

Cole Turner was the only other Gravette player in double figures with 12 points. Blankenship finished with 18 points and Pitts 16 to pace Lincoln.

GIRLS

LINCOLN 61

GRAVETTE 36

Jaycie Neely scored 15 of her 21 points in the third quarter as Lincoln stormed out in the second half and cruised to a win.

The Lady Wolves (9-4, 1-0) outscored Gravette (3-7, 0-1) 29-4 in the second quarter and turned a three-point halftime deficit into a commanding 45-23 lead. Lincoln extended its lead as much as 27 points in the fourth quarter.

Shoni Rothcock added 13 for Lincoln. Maddie Foster and Chasity Hubbard each scored nine for Gravette.

General News on 12/24/2014