Gentry upsets, sweeps Gravette on basketball court

Westside Eagle Observer/RANDY MOLL Gentry's Hannah Boss (right) grabs the rebound away from Gravette's Shylee Morrison during play on Friday night in Gravette.
Westside Eagle Observer/RANDY MOLL Gentry's Hannah Boss (right) grabs the rebound away from Gravette's Shylee Morrison during play on Friday night in Gravette.

GRAVETTE -- It wasn't what most expected and it took the boys five quarters to do it, but both the Pioneers and Lady Pioneers came out on top in play against the Gravette Lions and Lady Lions on Friday night. The girls won, 53-46, in regulation play; and the boys won, 49-45, in overtime.

Consistency and persistence were a big part of the game for Gentry. Both teams played hard and never let up.

Hannah Boss led the Gentry girls with 18 points in the game. Kya DeZurik had 10.

On the Gravette side, Tori Foster had 15, and Cally Kildow 13.

The Lady Pioneers controlled the lane and forced the Lady Lions to shoot from outside and then grabbed up the rebounds to keep an edge in the game.

Gentry was up, 21-19, at the half, but Gravette had the edge after three quarters, 34-31. DeZurik picked up 8 points in the final quarter to help the Lady Pioneers pick up another 22 points and the victory.

"The girls gave great effort and I thought every member of the team was committed to winning," Gentry coach Toby Tevebaugh said. "The effort on the court and the atmosphere on the bench was everything a coach wants. I'm very happy for the girls."

"I thought it was a hard-fought game between two good teams," Gravette coach Will Pittman said. "I thought both teams played extremely hard. We had a number of shots that just didn't fall for us. Gentry was a better team tonight. Hats off to Toby for having his team thoroughly prepared for us."

"Kya DeZurik probably played the best game I've seen her play," Tevebaugh said. "Her playing like that was a difference maker. Hays was gutsy as always, Boss was a handful inside, Chaz really helped with handling the ball against their pressure, and Ahrya had a good game on offense and defense. The bench was excellent as well. Everyone did their part tonight including the girls that brought so much energy to our bench."

The Lady Lions fell to 6-1 in conference play. The Lady Pioneers are now 7-1.

Gentry 49

Gravette 45

On the boys' side, seniors Jon Faulkenberry had 18 points and Ethan Hammond had 17, including a three-pointer in the fourth quarter which kept Gentry in the game.

Dayten Wishon had 23 points for the Lions and was the top scorer in the game.

The lead went back and forth, with Gravette up, 5-4, after the first quarter and Gentry up, 15-14, at the half. Gentry was up by two at the end of three, and Gravette took back the lead in the fourth quarter but couldn't keep it. A Gravette basket just before the buzzer tied things up at 38.

In the four-minute overtime, it looked like Lions might get the win but the Pioneers fought back and took the lead, forcing the Lions to foul and intentionally miss a free throw for a chance to stay in the game. In the end, free throws by Faulkenberry, Hammond and Wilkinson put the game out of the Lions' reach.

The Lions are 5-2 in conference play. The Pioneers are 3-6.

Sports on 01/10/2018