LINCOLN -- The Gentry Pioneers, like the Lady Pioneers, traveled south to participate in the first annual Turkey Shoot Basketball Tournament in the gym at Lincoln High School Nov. 19-21. In one of the most intense games of the tournament, the Pioneers managed to pull off a win for a third-place finish.
First up was the Lincoln Junior Varsity Wolfpack Nov. 19.
The Pioneers quickly gained control of the first half, leaving the Wolfpack in their wake, 39-20, at the break. By the end of the final 16 minutes of the contest, the Pioneers claimed their first-round victory, 69-42, over a young Lincoln Wolfpack team. Gentry advanced to the semifinal round in the winners' bracket.
Leading the drive for the Pioneers was Cory Hockenberry with 16, followed by Blake Wilkinson with 15 and Dylan Kilgore with nine.
In the next round played Nov. 20, the Gentry Pioneers squared off with the Elkins Elks for a chance to play in the champions game the following day.
Elkins jumped out in front by 10 at the end of the first quarter while holding the Pioneers to only five points going into the second quarter. Elkins continued to widen its lead, pulling ahead of the Pioneers, 31-17, by the break.
Gentry was unable to gain ground on Elkins in the second half, handing Elkins the win, 63-39, and sending the Elks to the championship game. The Gentry Pioneers faced Future School of Fort Smith in the third-place contest Nov. 21.
Dylan Kilgore led the Pioneer scoring with 16, followed by Casey Bates with nine and Brian Magana and Blake Wilkinson each with six.
In the final game of the three-game series, the Pioneers gained control of the first half, outscoring the Rockets 19-13 in the first quarter and 22-9 in the second to take a 41-22 lead going into the break.
Future School came back in the second half, pulling to within 10 points going into the final eight minutes of the contest. The Pioneer scoring drive shut down early in the fourth quarter, allowing the Rockets to take a single point lead with four minutes left to play. Gentry began hitting its shots soon after and regained the lead going into the final two minutes to play. The Rockets kept it close for the remainder of the game, but the Gentry Pioneers managed to hold on to claim the victory and a third-place finish in the Lincoln Turkey Shoot Basketball Tournament.
Leading the Gentry Pioneers with 24 points was Dylan Kilgore, followed by Cory Hockenberry with 15 (all three-point shots). Hunter Mills had 11 points, and Blake Wilkinson had eight.
Sports on 11/28/2018