DECATUR — Trace Crawford led three Gravette players in double figures with 19 points and the Lions used a 13-0 run in the second quarter to pull away for a 68-43 victory over Haas Hall at the Decatur Holiday Tournament on Tuesday.
Gravette (1-4) will face Eureka Springs in the tournament semifinals Thursday, while Haas Hall will face Northwest Arkansas Classical in a consolation bracket game, also on Thursday.
Gravette senior Kyle Fox hit four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points. Kelton Trembly added 10 points for the Lions. In all, 11 different Gravette players scored and the Lions scored 34 points off 36 Haas Hall turnovers. Gravette led 37-21 at halftime and took a 54-31 lead to the fourth quarter
Gravette coach Greg White said the Lions' aggressive full-court pressure was the key to the victory.
"With our lack of size, that is what we are pushing this year," White said. "Things are starting to click for us and we got the pace that we wanted to get going."
Sophomore Rhett Owen led Haas Hall (1-2) with 11 points. Safin Attwal, Caleb Maddock and Adam Corral had six points each for the Mastiffs.
"The turnovers really hurt us," said Haas Hall coach John Daily. "We thought we were going to get through it, but their pressure was too much to overcome."
Gravette took a 12-7 lead to the second quarter and back-to-back steals and layups by Dayten Wishon and Crawford gave the Lions a 16-9 lead. But Haas Hall used an 8-0 run behind four points by Mark Moghadam to take a 17-16 lead five minutes before halftime.
Gravette then responded with a 13-0 run en route to a 37-21 lead. Fox opened the run with back-to-back 3-pointers and his third 3-pointer of the second quarter gave the Lions a 29-17 lead. Crawford also hit a 3-pointer during the run to cap a 25-point second quarter by Gravette.
"The runs in the second and third quarters were big," White said. "The start of the third quarter has been our nemesis all year, but I thought we did a good job in the third. Kyle really shot the ball well, and Trace had a good night."
Boys
Gravette 68, Haas Hall 43
Haas Hall 7 14 10 12 — 43
Gravette 12 25 17 14 — 68
Haas Hall (1-2): Owen 11, Attwal 6, Maddock 6, Corral 6, Tidwell 4, Moye 4, Kisor 2, Kirkpatrick 2, White 2.
Gravette (1-4): Crawford 19, Fox 14, Trembly 10, Miller 6, Fink 5, J. Soule 5, Johnson 2, Duke 2, Wishon 2, Pierce 2, B. Soule 1.
Eureka Springs 95, Northwest Arkansas Classical 18
Eureka Springs led 30-5 at the end of the first quarter and the Highlanders never looked back in a first round win.
Reggie Sanchez led four Eureka Springs players in double figures with 16 points. JM Gregg added 14 points for the Highlanders while Oscar Mendez and Linzy Wolfinbarger scored 10 points each.
West Fork 73, Johnson County Westside 40
West Fork advanced to the semifinals behind 20 points by Ryan Roebke. The Tigers will play Lincoln in the semifinals Thursday.
Lincoln 41, Decatur 38
Garrett Blankenship scored 17 points and Troy Sugg added 10 as the Wolves edged Decatur. Taylor Haisman led Decatur with 17 points.
Girls
Gravette girls beat Eureka Springs, 75-16, on Monday. Decatur lost, 45-13, to Lincoln. Gravette plays again at 4 p.m. on Thursday. Decatur plays tonight at 7 in a consolation round.