Lions build big lead, win; Lady Lions lose

PRAIRIE GROVE -- Otto Troutner was all alone under the basket as Gravette quickly zipped through Prairie Grove's press.

His uncontested layup off a feed from Terence Pierce gave the Lions a 20-point lead early in the fourth quarter and Gravette appeared on its way to a blowout road win Friday night.

But someone forgot to tell Prairie Grove the game was over.

Troutner's layup gave Gravette a 61-41 lead, and it needed every bit of that cushion as the Lions hung on for a 71-66 win in front of a packed house in 4A-1 Conference play.

Prairie Grove's fourth quarter rally was no surprise to Gravette coach Dustin Peters.

"They do it to us every time we play them it seems like," Peters said. "There's no quit in them. They are going to play hard until the final buzzer."

The Tigers (8-10, 3-5 4A-1) went on a 14-0 run, capped by Ty Tice's driving layup that cut the Gravette lead to 61-55 with 2 minutes, 41 seconds left in the game. Pierce, who scored a game-high 27 points, ended the run with a pair of free throws and Gravette (14-5, 6-2) was able to hang on.

The Tigers unleashed a frantic full-court press in the fourth quarter that turned the momentum with steals that were converted into layups.

"We turned up the pressure a little bit," Tigers coach Steve Edmiston said. "It was one of those situations where on your home floor you make a good play and it gets the crowd back in the game. And I think they got rattled a little bit."

Gravette dominated the third quarter, turning a 26-26 halftime tie into a 55-36 lead by scoring 29 points in the quarter. Cole Turner had 10 points for the Lions and Pierce added 9 and several assists.

"That third quarter we were really, really good offensively," Peters said. "I told them I was a fortune teller after the game. I told them at halftime if we could control our defensive glass the way they were crashing the boards, we would control the game by controlling the pace and getting transition baskets."

GIRLS

Prairie Grove 74

Gravette 40

Lacy Beeks scored 25 points to power the Lady Tigers to a mercy-rule win. Taylor Hartin added 18 for Prairie Grove (12-5, 6-2).

Sam Pruitt scored 17 for Gravette (4-15, 2-6).

Sports on 01/29/2014