McKenzie crowned Gravette Homcoming queen, boys defeat Elkins

Photo by Mike Eckels Elizabeth McKenzie (center) receives kisses from her escorts, Kelton Trembley (left) and Seth Duke (right), after her coronation as the 2016 Basketball homecoming queen at Lion Field House in Gravette Dec. 16.
Photo by Mike Eckels Elizabeth McKenzie (center) receives kisses from her escorts, Kelton Trembley (left) and Seth Duke (right), after her coronation as the 2016 Basketball homecoming queen at Lion Field House in Gravette Dec. 16.

— The bleachers in the competition gym were filled to the maximum with loyal Lion fans ready for the 2016 Gravette homecoming basketball contest on Dec. 16 between the Lions and the Elkins Elks to begin. But first, it was time to crown a new homecoming queen.

Three Gravette seniors vied for the title this year. Stephanie Pinter, Emma Russ and Elizabeth McKenzie, along with their six escorts, stood at center court while each was introduced. Finally, the moment was at hand. Elizabeth McKenzie was named the 2016 homecoming queen with Seth Duke and Kelton Trembley as her escorts. Once the celebration was over and the hundreds of photographs taken, it was time to play basketball.

The Lions were the first to score. For the next five minutes, the Lions held the Elks scoreless while they began to put points on the scoreboard. By the end of the first quarter, Gravette held a 13-5 lead over Elkins. The remainder of the first half was all Lions, as they continued to build their lead, taking a 20-point lead into the halftime break.

Shortly after the start of the second half, Kelton Trembley stripped the ball away from an Elkins player at the top of the key. He drove the ball unopposed down court for a beautiful slam dunk. Trembley hit the goal so hard that it swayed for several seconds after his epic dunk. This brought the crowd into the game as the Lions continued to hammer the Elks with a series of layups and dunks throughout the next five minutes, commanding as much as a 13-point lead toward the end of the quarter. But Elkins powered back to cut the lead down to 10 at the end of the third quarter with the Lions in control, 34-24.

The Elks tried to power back through the final eight minutes of the contest, but Gravette held on and continued to match Elkins, point for point, until the end. The contest ended with the Gravette Lions taking the victory over the Elkins Elks, 46-35.

The Lions were 7 and 1 overall and 5 and 0 in conference play. Gravette finishes the first half of the 2016-17 season at home against the West Fork Tigers on Dec. 20 (after press time).

Sports on 12/21/2016