Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Tigers Host Basketball Tournaments
Junior Varsity Player Semrad Dunked In Feb. 11 Game
PRAIRIE GROVE — Prairie Grove plays host to the District 4A-1 boys and girls basketball tournaments this week at Tiger Arena. Games began Monday and Tuesday and continue with quarterfinals Wednesday and semifinals Thursday. Consolation and championship games are scheduled for Saturday.
Head boys basketball coach Steve Edmiston is building tradition at Prairie Grove having two different special needs players now punctuate their careers on senior night with 3-point shots made in varsity games. Senior Breyden Clark overcame cerebral palsy, a heart condition, and effects of a stroke that left him with partial paralysis to drain a trifecta Tuesday, Feb. 11 against Gravette.
Six years earlier McKay Gregson, then a senior manager, hit a secondchance 3-pointer after Farmington’s Jeremy Mueller rebounded his first miss and threw the ball back to him on Feb. 14, 2014.
“You got those kids that want to be a part and they’re a huge part of what we do and what we do every day and so it’s great to see them be able to be a part of something like that cause it means the world to them and it means the world to us,” Steve Edmiston said. “Yeah, it’s great for them and great for us, as well.”
Gregson’s shot came at the end of the game and Steve Edmiston was so caught up in coaching that he had to be reminded to sub him in with 6.7 seconds left. Gregson’s sister, a cheerleader, ran over to the Prairie Grove bench and yelled at
Steve Edmiston, “Hey, sub my brother in.”
Clark got his opportunity right off by starting the game as Edmiston flipped the script by working out a gentleman’s agreement with Gravette coach Matt Busch. The coach’s son, senior Alex Edmiston, gave up his starting spot to get Clark out onto the floor.
“Alex said he was more than welcome to have his starting spot
and so I was appreciative of Alex for that. The kids, my seniors, it was pretty much a consensus, that was what they wanted, that was what we wanted and I appreciate that out of all our guys to have that kind of thought process to think about that,” Steve Edmiston said.
“This time we kind of had a plan from the get-go and it was perfect so we’re thankful that it went the way it did. We pulled it off the way we wanted to and Breyden making the shot just made it that much sweeter. That was a great way to start the game. We got off to a good start, kind of went cold in the second quarter, but then in the second half we kind of put it back together, really got going on offense and that was huge for us.”
Assistant coach Ulysses Ruley recalls Clark serving as manager since seventh grade and working with the program.
“He’s always been around and shooting baskets and being part of the team,” Ruley said. “He’s a character. He’s fun to be around. I couldn’t believe it, first shot, nails it, crowd erupts and Gravette coming over. It was a good thing to see, good moment for him.”
The shot gave Prairie Grove a spark with the Tigers going on to beat Gravette, 61- 33, and following that up with a 37-33 road win at Gentry Friday.
“Right now, this time of year, you’re trying to build confidence, momentum, going into the next week. Hopefully, we can carry tonight to Friday and into next week. That’s what the plan is. We’ll see,” Steve Edmiston said.
“It’s going to be an interesting conference tournament. You always kind of look forward to hosting and being on your home floor so we’re hoping that we can turn that into an advantage for us. We’ve been on a little bit of an up and down. We played really well one night, then not so well the next night. We’re still searching for that kind of secret equation, that consistency, but I think that if we do that, we’re a team that’s hard to deal with. We just got to figure out how to get there for four quarters.”
Basketball is enjoyed at all levels in Prairie Grove.
Sophomore Landon Semrad dunked in the junior varsity game against Gravette Tuesday, Feb. 11. Ruley said Semrad will figure prominently into next season’s team. He just needs to improve his defense.
“He’s got a lot of talent. He’s going to be a big part of our system next year for sure,” Ruley said. “He’s got a load of talent, all the athleticism you ever want. He played last year and had ups and downs but it seems like he’s figuring it out. If he gets a group around him that can play a little bit, it opens up the court for him and he can make some good things happen. He’s aggressive.”