SEARCY — Cedarville flirted with disaster Wednesday night, but the Pirates can thank Garrett Parson for coming to their rescue.
Parson hit a layup with 3.6 seconds left to lift Cedarville to a 55-54 victory over Prescott in the first round of the Class 3A boys state tournament at Riverview High School.
“I tell you what, that was a heck of a game - for about the last three minutes of the game,” Cedarville Coach Andrew Tencleve said with a smile. “We gave up a big lead, got down and then came back, and our guys showed a lot of character by doing that.
“I’ve got to give Prescott credit for coming back the way they did, but we made enough plays late to pull it outand I couldn’t be happier.”
Parson finished with a game-high 27 points for Cedarville, which will take on Jessieville in a quarterfinal game tonight at 8:30 p.m. Zach Bradford scored 13 points and Corey Fincher had eight.
L.J. Martin and Rondarius Cone scored 13 points each for Prescott, which trailed by as many as 17 points early in the third quarter before battling back. T-Bo Gulley, Bryce Evans and Richardo Roberts all chipped in with eight points.
Cedarville, playing its fifth game in seven days, led 35-18 following Bradford’s bucket with 7:37 left in the third quarter. But Prescott, which trailed 27-18 at the half, started hitting shots from all over thefloor and pulled within 42-41 going into the final period.
The Curley Wolves regained the lead on Cone’s short jumper early in the quarter. Prescott eventually opened up a 49-42 lead midway through the quarter and had chances to expand it, but missed free throws cost the Curley Wolves and ultimately led to their demise.
Prescott missed 5 of 6 free throws over the game’s final three minutes, giving Cedarville the opening it needed.
“When a team like us blows a big lead like that, we’re usually done,” Tencleve said. “The guys stepped up and made some big plays when we needed them most.”
Cedarville used an 11-3 spurt to reclaim the lead before Martin’s layup gave Prescott a 54-53 advantage with 22 seconds left. ThePirates turned the ball over on their next possession and fouled Gulley with 12 seconds left, but the senior missed both to set the stage for Parson.
MCGEHEE 54, MANSFIELD 37
McGehee held Mansfield to two points in the second quarter and pulled away over the game’s final 16 minutes to move into the quarterfinals.
Zach Ellis scored 15 of his 21 points in the first half to lead McGehee. Marcus Miller finished with 15 points for the Owls.
POYEN 83, MARKED TREE 72
Parker Shields scored 28 points to lead Poyen past Marked Tree in the first round of the tournament.
Kaleb Collins added 24 points for Poyen, while Dalton Dugan finished with 11.
Allen Buchanan scored 24 points to lead Marked Tree, and Darius Ivy added 23 points. Daniel Rucker chipped in 14.
Poyen outscored Marked tree 22-12 in the second quarter to take control of the game.
Sports, Pages 20 on 02/28/2013