SPRINGDALE — Gentry rallied from a double-digit deficit heading to the fourth quarter to force overtime with Shiloh Christian on Tuesday, but the Saints hung on for a 56-53 win.
Shiloh Christian took a 44-30 edge into the fourth quarter, but slowly unraveled as Gentry got hot. With the help of a couple of 3-pointers from Brent Barker, the Pioneers tied the game at 51-51 and forced the extra time.
Both teams struggled to score in overtime before Shiloh's Kyle Tune scored on a drive to the basket with seconds left to put the Saints ahead to stay.
Doug Burke had 23 points to pace Shiloh (8-15, 5-5 4A-1 Conference). Burke made five 3-pointers in the game.
Gentry outscored Shiloh Christian 21-7 in the fourth quarter to pull even.
"We are still learning how to win those close games," Saints coach Brent Hester said. "Gentry was rotating guys in and we were basically playing six guys. I thought we got a little tired."
Tune had only five points for the game, but also had a free throw in the overtime and his bucket at the end was the difference.
"That's why we have Kyle in the game, he can score," Hester said. "He was playing his role and didn't score a lot all night, but he was there with a nice play when we needed it."
Girls
Gentry 51, Shiloh Christian 37
The Gentry girls were hitting from 3-point range, making 7-of-17 from behind the arc to pull away.
"We shot the ball well from outside and that helped us build a little bit of a lead," Gentry coach Tim Fulks said. "Shiloh beat us on the boards and stayed in the game with second-chance points, but our shooting made the difference."
Rachel Lawrence scored 18 points and Haley Borgentein-James had 14 for Gentry. The Lady Pioneers (8-10, 5-5) stayed in the chase for one of the league's top spots in the district tournament with the win.
"I told the girls that we can finish anywhere from third to sixth depending on how these next six games go," Fulks said. "We didn't have our point guard (Mallory Morris) last Friday with the flu and we got beat up pretty good by Huntsville, which is one of the best teams in the state. But it was nice to bounce back and get a win on the road tonight."
Morris added 12 points for Gentry, all in the first half.
Lawrence hit a couple of early treys as Gentry grabbed a 17-10 lead after one quarter the Pioneers ended the second with a 10-2 run for a strong 29-15 lead at the half.
The closest Shiloh Christian could come after the break was 10 points.
Veronica Adams led Shiloh Christian (3-18, 2-8) with 16 points. Blaine Taylor added seven.
Stats
Girls
Gentry 51, Shiloh Christian 37
Gentry 17 12 9 13 51
Shiloh 10 5 10 12 37
Gentry (8-10, 5-5): Lawrence 18, Borgentein-James 14, Morris 12,Bills 6, Little 1.
Shiloh (3-18, 2-9): Adams 16, Taylor 7, Whaley 5, Ruiz 5, Barnes 4.
Boys
Shiloh Christian 56, Gentry 53 (OT)
Gentry 12 11 7 21 53
Shiloh 14 13 17 7 56
Gentry (10-9, 3-7): Barker 16, Cripps 14, Boyd 9, Dane 6, Folker 3, Julliert 3, Clark 2.
Shiloh (8-15, 5-5): Burke 23, Foster 8, Sutton 8, Lowe 7, Wilson 6, Tune 5.