PRAIRIE GROVE -- Elkins caught fire stroking four 3-pointers over a 3:22 span of the fourth to hand Prairie Grove a 52-41 loss Friday, Dec. 6, in a nonconference boys basketball game.
The long-range shots were big -- enabling the Elks to pull away from a 30-30 tie at the end of the third quarter. They used a 14-7 run to build a 44-37 advantage prompting Prairie Grove coach Steve Edmiston to call time-out with just over three minutes left.
"A couple of them were pretty deep and we knew going in that a lot of their offense is predicated on the 3-point line. We knew that and we were going to do what we could to try run them off the line, but a couple of them they got in transition, a couple of them were off a defensive mistake on our part," Steve Edmiston said. "They're a good team and they're going to make you pay for your defensive mistake."
Prairie Grove began the fourth with a trey of its own when Carl Von Bergen took a kick-out and nailed a 3-pointer, but Prairie Grove's lead didn't last long. Paxton Barnett led all scorers with 17 points and his fourth 3-pointer of the game, the second in succession for the Elks, wiped out the Tigers' last lead of 34-33 off Jake Webb's free throw.
Elkins' point-guard Kain Johnson got to the basket and scored inside, but Alex Edmiston, son of coach Steve Edmiston, fired in a trifecta off Cole Vertz' dribble penetration and dish. Prairie Grove was within one, but Caden Vaught hit back-to-back threes from deep-range when nobody was attempting to guard him, pushing Elkins' lead to seven points.
Prairie Grove rallied from a 13-8 first quarter deficit to seize the lead at halftime by outscoring Elkins 12-5 in the second quarter. Alex Edmiston blocked a shot then rebounded which led to John Mayers driving score. On the next trip down Alex Edmiston came away with a steal underneath the basket. Prairie Grove couldn't score, but Elkins faired no better. Webb blocked Johnson in the paint and Prairie Grove scored consecutive baskets, the second featured Alex Edmiston catching the ball on an in-bounds play. Noah Ceniceros drew a charge causing yet another Elks turnover.
"We got down early then really started executing offensively and defensively. (We) gave up some looks in the second half, but in the first half I don't think we could have played a better defensive half to hold them to 18 with a scoring bunch like that. I was really proud of what we did," Steve Edmiston said. "In the second half we didn't execute like I want us to defensively."
Barnett, who blistered Shiloh Christian for 32 points, earlier in the week with Elkins beating the Saints, 69-63, on Tuesday, Dec. 3, was held to 17. Johnson finished with 14 points and Vaught added 13. The Elks hit 10 treys in all split up among four different players.
Alex Edmiston had 13 points for the Tigers. Webb added 9; Vertz, 6; Mayers, 4; Ceniceros, 4; Von Bergen, 3; and Sloan Smith, 2.
"The second quarter we executed offensively and got the looks we wanted. We're not shooting real well right now and that puts a lot of pressure on our defense. We got a lot of clean looks and we just got to be better from the perimeter with our shooting," Steve Edmiston said.
Elkins 52, Prairie Grove 41
Prairie Grove^8^12^10^11^--^41
Elkins^13^5^12^22^--^52
Prairie Grove (3-4): Alex Edmiston 6 0-0 13, Jake Webb 2 5-7 9, Cole Vertz 2 2-2 6, John Mayers 2 0-1 4, Noah Ceniceros 2 0-0 4, Carl Von Bergen 1 0-0 3, Sloan Smith 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 7-8 41.
Elkins (6-1): Paxton Barnett 6 1-2 17, Kain Johnson 6 2-4 14, Caden Vaught 5 0-0 13, Carson Perrenoud 2 0-0 6, Kobe Andrews 1 0-2 3, Aiden Underdown 1 0-0 2. Totals 21 3-8 52.
3-Point Goals -- Prairie Grove 2 (Edmiston, Von Bergen), Elkins 10 (Barnett 4, Vaught 3, Perrenoud 2, Andrews).
Sports on 12/11/2019