Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Tigers Boys Beat Greenland
GREENLAND — Prairie Grove senior Tigers and their junior Tiger proteges both seized exciting wins on Nov. 24 when they went on the road to face the Greenland Pirates in a nonconference showdown. The senior boys claimed a lead in the last minute of their match- up with the Pirates, en route to their 40-37 victory, while the junior boys contest proved to be an even tighter affair with the junior Tigers earning a 22-20, buzzer beating victory over their hosts.
Senior Boys Prairie Grove 40,
Greenland 37
The Tigers, finally playing with their full complement of players now that football season has concluded, overcame a dreadful second period performance, as well as a 4 point deficit with three minutes to play to capture their first victory of the season ( 1-1). Prairie Grove didn’t have any players score in double-digits, but what they did have was seven players adding points to the scoring ledger.
In the opening period Prairie Grove trailed Greenland 8-6 with 2: 15 to play, which is when D.J. Strong stroked his second 3 of the frame giving the Tigers a slim 9- 8 advantage. Parker Galligan popped a jumper in the lane with one tick on the clock, increasing the lead to 11-8.
Prairie Grove performed pitifully in the second period, turning the ball over nine times, which allowed Greenland to stage a 10-0 run. Dylan Soehner finally staunched the bleeding with a pair of free- throws at the 4: 52 mark. The only other points that the Tigers scored in the period were on a fast break layup from Tanner Pursell just before intermission, which left the Tigers trailing 20-15 at the break.
The Tigers faced a 7- point deficit early in the third stanza until Nick Ellis and Galligan sandwiched a pair of trifectas around a Gavin Heltemes fastbreak layup, which allowed Prairie Grove to reclaim the lead 23-22. With the score tied, 26-26, Pursell pulled off an old Harlem Globetrotter trick when he threw the basketball off a Pirate player’s backside while inbounding the ball under the Tigers’ basket. The ball bounced back into his hands and allowed him to make an easy bucket, however Greenland got the last laugh of the period by scoring the next 4 points, giving them the 30-28 lead heading into the final frame.
The Pirate lead was 37-33 with 3:03 left to play, which is when big Soehner took over. A strong move to the basket by Soehner closed the gap to 37- 35, and then with 2:22 left in the game Greenland’s leading scorer fouled out of the contest trying to guard Prairie Grove’s junior post player. Soehner connected on one free-throw making the score 37-36, and then with 57 seconds left Soehner put the Tigers ahead 38-37 with an inside bucket.
The Pirates, who missed six consecutive free- throws down the back stretch, were forced to foul Leighton Smith who then proceeded to make both freethrows, bringing the final score to 40-37.
The trio of Soehner, Ellis and Galligan led the Tigers in scoring with 7 points apiece, while Strong tallied 6 points. Smith notched 5 points and Heltemes and Pursell rounded out the scoring with 4 points each.
Junior Boys Prairie Grove 22,
Greenland 20
Prairie Grove’s Anthony Johnson, who led the junior Tigers in scoring with 9 points, had a pair of buzzer-beating baskets. His first was a wild prayer thrown up just before halftime, and his second proved even bigger when he hit the game winning shot on a fast break floater.
DeMarkus Cooper and J.D. Elder complemented Johnson with 4 points apiece, D.J. Pearson added 3 points, and Jaren Sorters rounded out the night with 2 points.