PRAIRIE GROVE -- Over the past few years, Prairie Grove (3-5, 3-1) has had some notoriously slow starts to the boys' basketball season coupled with strong finishes during February in conference play.
The trend didn't look any different Dec. 13 with the Tigers suffering a 42-33 loss at home to Gravette (5-1, 3-0). While acknowledging Gravette played good defense, Prairie Grove coach Steve Edmiston pinned the loss on a lack of patience in executing offensively.
Gravette 42, Prairie Grove 33
Gravette^7^14^10^11^—^42
Prairie Grove^13^3^6^11^—^33
Gravette (5-1, 3-0): Kelton Trembley 5 2-2 13, Dayten Wishon 3 3-4 10, Andrew Miller 4 0-0 10, Childress 2 1-4 5, Seth Duke 1 2-2 4. Totals 15 8-12 42
Prairie Grove (3-5, 3-1): Cameron Simmons 5 2-2 12, Will Pridmore 3 1-2 8, Isaac Disney 2 0-1 4, DeMarcus Cooper 2 0-0 4, D.J. Pearson 1 0-0 3, Taylor Moore 0 2-4 2. Totals 13 5-9 33.
3-Point Goals — Gravette 4 (Miller 2, Duke, Wishon), Prairie Grove 2 (Pridmore, Pearson).
"They did a pretty good job defensively in the half-court," Edmiston said. "But I think if we would have been more patient the shots would have been there. We weren't patient enough offensively. We've got to really settle in. It was a low-scoring game. Every possession counts."
Gravette coach Matt Bush said defensive rebounding was a key in keeping Prairie Grove away from the offensive glass.
"I think our kids did a good job within our system," Bush said. "We limited them to one shot, that was the biggest part."
Bush also saw problems early on with the Lions on the offensive end of the court, saying, "Our kids played well offensively, we just needed to get a little more spacing. I thought our spacing was bad. Once we got a little more spacing, we did better."
There were three lead changes in the first quarter that ended with the Tigers ahead, 13-7, after Will Pridmore's bucket in the lane. The second quarter was all Lions, who outscored the Tigers, 14-3, in the period. Back-to-back driving layups by Kelton Trembley, who led the Lions with 13 points, the second a coast-to-coast trip after clearing a rebound, put Gravette ahead, 16-14, with 3:16 to go in the first half. Prairie Grove's solitary field goal of the quarter came near the final minute when Cameron Simmons, who led the Tigers with 12 points, took a feed out of the left corner to score a layup.
Gravette led 21-16 at halftime and went on a 9-2 run to open the third quarter, capped by Wembly's steal and full-court drive when he again beat all the Tigers in transition for a layup. Later in the third, Prairie Grove's DeMarkus Cooper hit a soft shot in the paint, then again positioned himself in the low box as Disney passed from the right wing to Braden Risner in the high post. Risner immediately whirled and fed Cooper for an easy deuce. The hoop helped Prairie Grove stay within nine, 31-22, at the end of the third quarter.
After Disney missed a driving shot in the fourth and fell down out of the play, Andrew Miller pressed a 5-on-4 advantage by taking the rebound and going in for a layup and a 33-26 Lion lead with 5:08 remaining. Prairie Grove tried to rally with a 5-0 mini run. Disney had several assists. He penetrated and kicked the ball out to D.J. Pearson, who snapped a trifecta from the right wing, breaking a Tiger scoring drought of 2:56. Down the stretch, Wishon, Duke and Wembly combined to go 6 of 6 at the foul line to secure a 42-33 conference win. Wishon and Miller scored 10 points apiece for Gravette.
Sports on 12/21/2016