PRAIRIE GROVE -- Like a one-two punch, sophomore Will Pridmore provided scoring, looking for his shot at optimum times within the offense with senior Isaac Disney coming up strong on defense.
The Prairie Grove boys basketball team punctuated Color's Day with a 58-46 defeat of Greenland Friday.
Pridmore sparked Prairie Grove from the start, scoring 11 points in the opening quarter including a pair of 3-pointers. When the Tigers needed a basket Pridmore came through. His trifecta from the corner erased a Greenland 5-4 lead and his second 3-pointer of the period helped ignite a 13-4 Prairie Grove run to close out the last 4:02 of the first and take a 20-12 lead.
"Will had 25 points, it is a season-high," Prairie Grove coach Steve Edmiston said. "Will is a kid, who moved in here from Fayetteville. Tonight was a glimpse of what Will is capable of doing. He's a scorer and he shot it really well. He was so efficient, that's what made it work for us."
In the second quarter, Prairie Grove built a 26-14 lead on Demarkus Cooper's layup off a high-low set with Taylor Moore before Greenland came roaring back. The Pirates got 21 points from Zac Wolfe and went 9 of 10 at the foul line in the second, closing to within, 28-23, after a 9-2 run. Cameron Simmons contributed 15 points for the Tigers and ended the run with a putback in the waning seconds of the first half.
Prairie Grove led 30-25 at intermission, only to have the Pirates claw their way back to within a single point, at 33-32. Wolfe hit a 3-pointer, then added a layup while releasing on a blocked shot. His teammates found him ahead of the Tigers and Prairie Grove's lead was down to 33-32. Pridmore was up to the challenge, answering with a 3-pointer of his own.
Twice more Greenland cut the lead to one in the third. Pridmore responded by driving the lane and getting a good bounce after releasing a shot in the key. Zane Wilson was not boxed out and put back a miss, but the Pirates allowed Moore to do the same thing on the other end. Greenland couldn't score on their next trip and Pridmore rebounded, taking the ball all the way to the free-throw line at the other end where he hit another pull-up.
Prairie Grove held a 42-38 lead going into the fourth and Edmiston wanted to secure the game. His strategy was to put Disney, a defensive stand-out, on Wolfe. Not only did Disney hold the Pirate guard scoreless in the fourth, he dogged Wolfe like a bloodhound causing havoc when the Pirates tried to get the ball to Wolfe.
Disney's inspired effort in taking the assignment had an immediate impact with a pair of deflections resulting in two Tiger steals and fast-break points with Simmons' bucket at the other end, giving Prairie Grove a 47-40 lead.
"I pride myself on being a defensive player in basketball," Disney said. "I'm pretty much a defensive specialist on the court and I'll do whatever it takes to win. It's all really instincts. A little of it comes from football and playing cornerback, just following guys around and being as active as I can."
Pridmore nailed a trey putting a dagger in Greenland's comeback midway through the quarter. He worked a give-and-go with Cooper to keep the Tiger lead at nine, 54-45, at the 2:10 mark. Then Disney added a pair of knock-out punches on offense. He drove the middle, elevating in front of the rim and laying the ball in.
"Coach said he wanted layups only in that situation," Disney said. "I saw the weak-side defense playing off. I got the opening and just drilled it."
On the next Tiger possession, Disney cut and the ball was delivered as he reached the basket for another high-percentage shot and score putting the game out of reach with 40 seconds to go. Prairie Grove won 58-46 breaking a two-game losing streak.
Prairie Grove 58, Greenland 46
Greenland^12^11^15^8^--^46
Prairie Grove^20^10^12^16^--^58
Greenland (5-12): Zac Wolfe 6 8-12 21, Cutter Watkins 2 6-8 10, Zane Wilson 4 0-3 9, Austin Anderson 0 4-4 4, Boone Tincher 0 2-4 2. Totals 12 20-31 46.
Prairie Grove (10-11): Will Pridmore 9 4-5 25, Cammeron Simmons 5 5-10 15, Zeke Laird 2 0-1 5, DeMarkus Cooper 1 3-4 5, Isaac Disney 2 0-0 4, Taylor Moore 2 0-3 4. Totals 21 12-23 58.
3-Point Goals -- Greenland 2 (Wolfe, Wilson), Prairie Grove 4 (Pridmore 3, Laird).
Sports on 02/01/2017