Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Saints Edge Tigers
BERRYVILLE — With 26 seconds to go, Shiloh in-bounded against a full-court Prairie Grove press with guard Conner Reece taking three steps, once which was out-ofbounds, before dribbling.
There was no whistle and as play continued Jack Hutchinson was fouled as the Saints advanced the ball into the front-court. He sank both free throws extending the Shiloh lead to 58-50 with 21.3 seconds left and the Saints went on to a 60-56 win, ending basketball season for the Tigers.
The fifth-seeded Saints (16-10) earned a second straight trip to regionals with the win, eliminating fourth-seeded Prairie Grove from the 4A-1 District tournament at Berryville. Hutchinson and Broc Berus scored 17 points apiece and Greg Bryant added 14 for the Saints. Prairie Grove’s Will Pridmore led all scorers with 24 points and Isaac Disney had 10.
“In the second half we did a much better job of attacking the basket and getting rebounds,” said Prairie Grove coach Steve Edmiston. “In the first half they hurt us, they got a lot of offensive rebounds. We just did not make enough plays to win the game.”
Previous to the Saints’ in-bounds play, Prairie Grove forward Demarkus Cooper absorbed an elbow to the face while battling in the paint. The ball was lost and awarded to Shiloh. Instead of Prairie Grove in-bounding with a chance to score, Shiloh ran five seconds off the clock and Hutchinson made free throws. The Tigers were unable to make up the deficit although Pridmore hit a trey to end the scoring.
That play was typical of how the game played out for Prairie Grove. The Tigers fell behind 46-34 at the end of the third quarter and fought an uphill battle to stay in the game during the fourth.
Cooper hit a 3- pointer, Pridmore added free throws, and Taylor Moore scored in the paint, narrowing the gap to 48-42. An 0 for 2 trip to the foul line hampered their comeback, although Pridmore did hit a pair at the 3:01 mark. But his layup wouldn’t go, leaving the margin at four points. Berus and Anthony Johnson traded 3-pointers. Eventually the Tigers pulled within 52-49 after making 2 of 4 free throws with 1:30 left.
In the last 1:15 Shiloh made 6 of 6 free throws while Prairie Grove went 1 for 2.
Edmiston said free throw shooting was the difference in the outcome.
“We knew playing a team like Shiloh, as physical as they are, it was going to be a physical game and there was going to be a lot of free throws,” Edmiston said. “You just really can’t shoot 50 percent from the free throw line and expect to win the game.”
Prairie Grove was 17 of 29. Shiloh went 16 for 28, but the Saints made theirs in crunch time.
Shiloh Christian 60, Prairie Grove 56
Prairie Grove 13 15 6 22 — 56 Shiloh 13 15 18 14 — 60 Shiloh Christian (12-9, 10-7): Broc Berus 5 3-6 17, Jack Hutchinson 3 8-13 17, Greg Bryant 6 2-3 14, Jackson Lyall 2 0-0 5, Connor Reece 1 2-4 4, Seth Turpin 1 0-0 2, Reagan Neal 0 1-2 1, Josh Ezell 0 0-2 0. Totals 18 16-28 60. Prairie Grove (11-13, 10-7): Will Pridmore 6 11-17 24, Isaac Disney 4 1-2 10, DeMarcus Cooper 2 2-5 7, Braden Risner 2 0-0 6, Taylor Moore 1 1-3 3, Anthony Johnson 1 0-0 3, D.J. Pearson 0 2-2 2. Totals 16 17-29 56. 3-Point Goals — Shiloh Christian 8 (Berus 4, Hutchinson 3, Lyall), Prairie Grove 6 (Risner 2, Disney, Cooper, Johnson, Pridmore).