OZARK -- Pottsville coach Shane Thurman knows his team's defense is the key to playing well. That was the case again Saturday night at the Hillbilly Activity Center.
Pottsville was able to pull away with a 56-28 victory against Morrilton behind a strong effort on defense in the Class 4A-4 Conference tournament finals.
"I really feel like the defense has been the key for us all season," Thurman said. "It creates offense for us. They have a great player, so we didn't want to give them open looks."
Morrilton (17-11) was able to make five of its nine first-quarter shots to keep pace with Pottsville, as the game was tied 13-13 heading into the second quarter.
Pottsville (23-4) found its way on defense after that, limiting the Morrilton offense to just 15 points and four of 23 shooting (17 percent) after the opening quarter of the game.
"We are a senior-dominated team," Thurman said. "They have been here a couple times now in these district tournaments. I think it showed. They looked like it was a business approach. We weren't too high or too low."
Wesley Heikes scored a game-high 18 points to lead the offense for Pottsville. Kade Mainhart added 14 points, while Logan Porter chipped in 11 for the Apaches.
Morrilton was led on offense by Xavier Wright who scored a team-high 10 points. Wright scored all of his points in the first half and was unable to find a basket after the break.
Pottsville was able to make 21 of 36 (58 percent) of its shots in the game, while Morrilton was limited to just nine of 32 (28 percent) from the field.
The Apaches were able to take a 31-18 lead heading into the break while shooting 70 percent in the second quarter. Mainhart was a big part of the offense, scoring a team-high eight second-quarter points.
"I feel like they were trying to pressure us, and that allowed us to get some easy baskets," Thurman said. "That's been the strength of our team because we have some size. We were able to take advantage of that getting shots under the goal."
Pottsville was able to continue its success after halftime, as it used an 11-0 run after the break to push its edge out to 42-18 in the third quarter.
"We talked about at halftime we wanted to make it so the score was 0-0, and we wanted to win the first four minutes," Thurman said. "The goal was to be up 10-0. A lot of games are won or loss early in the second half."
The Apaches took a 47-22 lead into the final quarter and pushed it out to 53-23 early in period with a 6-0 scoring stretch.
Morrilton 13 5 4 6 -- 28
Pottsville 13 18 16 9 -- 56
Morrilton (17-11): Wright 10, Bell 6, Franklin 4, Rector 3, Pinion 2, Allison 1, Black 1, Hardiman 1.
Pottsville (23-4): Heikes 18, Mainhart 14, Porter 11, Andrews 4, Horton 4, Prince 3, Bradley 2.
Girls
Clarksville 60, Pottsville 36
The Clarksville Lady Panthers made their initial four shots behind the arc and didn't look back after that Saturday night at the Hillbilly Activity Center.
Alysa Cummins, who filled in for an injured starter, scored a game-high 19 points to help lead the offense for Clarksville in the Class 4A-4 Conference tournament finals. Autumn Miller also added 18 points for the Lady Panthers.
"I've got a backup in Alysa got in that starting spot and hit some big shots for us," Clarksville coach Randy Talley said. "With a bench player becoming a starter this time of the year as a coach, you can't ask for more than that. We are proud of her."
Pottsville (17-9) was led by Abby James scoring a team-high 10 points, while Abbie Cain added nine for the Lady Apaches.
Clarksville (22-7) was able to make eight of 13 shots in the first quarter to build a 23-6 advantage. The offense was sparked behind the arc, as the Lady Panthers made seven 3s in the initial quarter.
"If you shoot like that from the outside, it's tough to guard against," Talley said. "We started the game really well. We knew they'd take away the inside, so we needed to make shots."
Cummins made the first shot of the game for Clarksville which was followed by two makes from Miller. Zoie Harvey then capped the scoring run with another 3 to help the Lady Panthers jump out to a 12-0 advantage.
Clarksville, which finished with 13 3-pointers in the game, was able to add three more shots from deep in the second quarter to take a 38-19 lead heading into the break.
Pottsville was limited to 1 of 16 shooting in the third quarter, which allowed the Clarksville to push its lead out to 47-21 heading into the final quarter. The Lady Panthers scored the final nine points of the frame.
Pottsville 23 15 9 13 -- 60
Clarksville 6 13 2 15 -- 36
Pottsville (17-9): James 10, Cain 9, Lasey 7, Hampton 6, Tedder 3, Reynolds 1.
Clarksville (22-7): Cummins 19, Miller 18, Tibbs 8, Harvey 6, Phillips 6, Harp 3.
Sports on 02/17/2019