Fourth Quarter Lapse Costs Tiger Boys

ELKINS BEATS PRAIRIE GROVE 45-38

MARK HUMPHREY ENTERPRISE-LEADER/Prairie Grove junior Will Pridmore launches a 3-point shot against Elkins' Chad Graham. Pridmore made three shots from 3-point land and scored 11 points, but Elkins beat the Tigers, 45-38, Friday.
MARK HUMPHREY ENTERPRISE-LEADER/Prairie Grove junior Will Pridmore launches a 3-point shot against Elkins' Chad Graham. Pridmore made three shots from 3-point land and scored 11 points, but Elkins beat the Tigers, 45-38, Friday.

ELKINS -- Prairie Grove rode an 18-8 third quarter surge to grab a 34-27 lead going into the fourth, but couldn't maintain their advantage and lost, 45-38, at Elkins Friday.

Elkins scored on steals by Layne Evans and Paxton Barnett, added a 3-point play when Barnett got a layup after a Tiger traveling violation and cashed in on Chad Graham's free throws following an offensive rebound. The 10-0 run opened up a 37-34 lead for Elkins and Prairie Grove never regained the lead. The lapse and scoring drought over the first 5:40 of the fourth quarter sealed the Tigers' fate.

"I told our guys that where we got into trouble this year," said Prairie Grove coach Steve Edmiston. "We got up seven then we had that lapse. The lack of execution on offense and defense, turnovers, missed free-throws, those things are hard to overcome especially on the road."

Demarkus Cooper put in a missed Tiger 3-pointer, drawing Prairie Grove within, 37-36, but Barnett's steal and breakaway slam dunk put the Elks up, 40-36, and sparked an 8-0 run.

"Our kids played hard," said Elkins coach Jared Porter. "We turned up our defense and extended it in the fourth quarter. We got some steals which led to easy buckets."

Barnett, a sophomore who started, led the Elks with 21 points and helped swing momentum in Elkins' favor.

"He has a high motor, he plays so hard, and he's blessed with leaping ability," Porter said. "He's just a good all-around basketball player. He gives us great energy both offensively and defensively and he has a knack for making big plays."

Prairie Grove dominated the third quarter on the strength of 10 points by J.D. Elder, who led the Tigers with 14.

"Elder in his first game out came in and gave us some really good minutes," Edmiston said. "He had some good boards, some good stick-backs. He's going to help us."

Prairie Grove trailed 19-16 at halftime, but quickly took the lead during the third. DJ Pearson and Will Pridmore took turns setting one another up for open 3-point shots and Elder scored three times on the offensive glass. The 6-feet-2 senior coming off a shoulder injury against Warren in Prairie Grove's final football playoff game Nov. 24 hit a jumper in the lane and Cooper blocked an Elkins' shot at the buzzer to keep the Tigers in front, 34-27, at the end of the third. Pearson led the Tigers in rebounds with 7 and had 2 assists.

The Tigers played three games last week in the Scranton tournament. Prairie Grove defeated Scranton, 60-48, but lost 49-42 to Charleston and 39-36 to Dardanelle.

"We had three guys from the football team (Cooper, Elder and Anthony Johnson), who saw heavy minutes tonight," Edmiston said. "It's going to take some time, but they can do some things athletically."

Elkins 45, Prairie Grove 38

Prairie Grove^7^9^18^4^--^38

Elkins^10^9^8^18--^45

Prairie Grove (1-4): J.D. Elder 6 2-3 14, Will Pridmore 3 2-2 11, DJ Pearson 2 0-2 5, Soggie Holcomb 1 1-2 3, Riley Rhodes 1 0-0 3, Demarkus Cooper 1 0-4 2. Totals 14 5-13 38.

Elkins (6-0): Brandon Paxton 10 2-4 24, Chad Graham 3 3-4 10, Layne Evans 4 0-0 8, Ethan Hipps 1 0-2 2, Quinn McClain 0 1-2 1. Totals 18 6-12 45.

3-Point Goals -- Prairie Grove 5 (Pridmore 3, Pearson, Rhodes), Elkins 3 (Paxton 2, Graham).

Prairie Grove 60

Prairie Grove^11^19^12^18^--^60

Scranton^3^12^12^21--^48

Sports on 12/06/2017