PRAIRIE GROVE -- The Tiger boys basketball team snatched victory out of the jaws of defeat, thanks to Braden Reisner's sharp pass that set up Nick Pohlman's driving bucket. Pohlman scored with 1.5 seconds left to lift the Tigers past Gravette, 43-42, in 4A-1 Conference action on Tuesday, Jan. 8.
That basket squelched an 8-0 run by the Lions that gave them a 42-41 lead with 15 seconds left following back-to-back 3-pointers from Brayden Trembley and Tristan Batie.
"It was kind of a breakdown right there. They (Gravette) hit a big bucket to go up a point and there are 15 (seconds) left. At that point, they're pretty much hard pressure. Fortunately for us, Nick slid down the baseline and kind of got lost. They didn't find him. Braden made the correct read, found him, he made the basket and it was probably the strongest move Nick had made all night," said Prairie Grove coach Steve Edmiston.
Gravette capitalized on a missed free throw as Trembley buried a 3-pointer, pulling the Lions within three, 41-39, with 28 seconds to play. Prairie Grove got careless on the ensuing inbound play and the Lions transformed a steal into Batie's 3-pointer which put Gravette ahead on the scoreboard, 42-41.
The Lions scrambled to pick up their defensive assignments as Prairie Grove inbounded and advanced the ball onto the offensive end of the court. The Tigers hurried but didn't panic, with Reisner delivering the ball to Pohlman in prime position to score, and score he did while drawing a foul.
Pohlman's free throw was off-target and Gravette coach Matt Busch called timeout with the rebound in the hands of the Lions. The clock showed three-tenths of a second, but the officials reset it to 1.0 second. Coming out of the time out, Gravette in-bounded in the backcourt in front of the Prairie Grove bench. A long pass into the frontcourt was batted around and time expired without the Lions getting off a shot.
PRAIRIE GROVE 43
GRAVETTE 42
Gravette 8 8 14 12 -- 42
P. Grove 11 10 11 11 -- 43
Gravette (10-8, 2-3): Issac Griffith 18, Kaleb Furlow 9, Tristan Batie 5, Chase Austin 4, Brayden Trembly 3, Colby McCarthy 2, Johnny Dunfee 1.
Prairie Grove (6-9, 1-4): Nick Pohlman 19, James Millwood 9, Riley Rhodes 6, Alex Edmiston 4, Cole Vertz 3, Braden Reisner 2.
Sports on 01/16/2019