HARRISON -- The Vilonia Eagles overcame an eight-point deficit in the third quarter and picked up a big victory to start the second half of the 5A-West Conference season as they fought off the Harrison Goblins 78-74 Friday night at LT's Court.
The Eagles have won 5 of 6 conference games since dropping their first two, including a 53-51 home loss to the Goblins in the league opener. While the score was much higher this time, the situation was similar to the last time the teams faced one another.
Harrison struggled with foul trouble in the second half, but it still had a chance to send the game to overtime. Senior guard Silas Huskey, who hit the game winner at Vilonia on Jan. 9, missed a running jumper with four seconds left that could have tied the score at 76-76. Vilonia's Josh Greer converted his third and fourth free throws over the final 9.6 seconds to secure the Eagles' victory.
"I'm so proud of our kids tonight," Vilonia Coach Tim Goers said. "They stepped up and really came through, and winning here is very, very huge for us. They have a great environment in Harrison, and I tell the kids that this is what high school basketball is all about.
"We want to play in hostile environments, and we want to be able to flourish in those situations."
The Eagles led 42-40 going into halftime edge, but the Goblins opened the second half with a 15-5 run and took a 55-47 lead when 6-5 sophomore post Trevor Atwell hit a three-pointer and scored down low with 4:25 left.
Then Atwell, Harrison's only player with the size to match up with Vilonia's 6-7 post Garrett Brown, picked up his third foul and the momentum shifted. Vilonia responded with a 12-2 run to go up 59-57, then scored the quarter's final four points for a 63-59 lead going into the final quarter.
A three-pointer by Tanner Curry with 7:18 left to play put Harrison ahead 64-63, and Atwell gave the Goblins their last lead of the night, 68-67, with 5:44 left. While Harrison suffered a four-minute scoring drought, Vilonia forged ahead 72-68.
It was 74-70 after two free throws by Lucas Nicholson. Curry pulled Harrison to within 74-72 with 40 seconds left, and Vilonia's Cory Brewer missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 32.2 seconds left. Atwell tied the score up for the last time at 74 with 21 seconds left before Greer made the first two of four consecutive free throws with 9.6 seconds left.
VILONIA (78)
Brown 14 4-4 34, Greer 5 4-4 17, Nicholson 3 3-3 9, Newell 3 1-2 9, Brewer 0 4-9 4, Jack.Berry 2 0-0 4, Stanley 0 1-2 1. Totals 27 17-24 78
HARRISON (74)
Huskey 8 5-5 22, Curry 9 0-0 19, Atwell 8 0-2 18, Marseilles 6 0-1 13, B.Humphrey 0 2-2 2. Totals 31 7-10 74.
Vilonia (14-7, 5-3) 19 23 21 15 -- 78
Harrison (13-8, 4-4) 17 23 19 15 -- 74
Three-pointers -- Vilonia 7 (Greer 3, Newell 2, Brown 2), Harrison 5 (Atwell 2, Curry, Huskey, Marseilles). Total fouls -- Vilonia 14, Harrison 23. Fouled out -- Gilley.
Sports on 02/07/2015