Arcadia Valley dethrones South Iron to take Thanksgiving trophy

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MATT KING

mking@dailyjournalonline.com

IRONTON – The Arcadia Valley Thanksgiving Tournament will turn 100 years old next November. The host Tigers will usher in the festivities from a new perch as reigning champions.

Showing increased maturity amid a raucous capacity crowd Thursday night, Arcadia Valley dethroned the greatest uninterrupted dynasty in the expansive history of the event.

The Tigers withstood multiple serious challenges from top-seeded South Iron, and never trailed while delivering a signature 55-47 victory for their program in an intense final.

Arcadia Valley (3-0) protected the ball enough to draw repeated fouls down the stretch, and converted 15-of-20 free throws to achieve its entire fourth-quarter scoring output at the line.

Jarel Jackson netted a team-high 12 points, and Kaiden Keith added 10 points with three steals after propelling the Tigers with 27 in an overtime semifinal against rival West County.

“We took a lot of lumps last year. In close games, we just could not get over that hump,” fourth-year Arcadia Valley head coach David Prater said. “That’s what we talked about all summer when we were traveling. We had to do a better job of finishing games, and I think it’s starting to pay off. We just won two close ones over really well-coached teams.

South Iron (2-1) captured the previous seven tournament titles in succession under future Hall of Fame coach Dusty Dinkins, the former high school mentor of Prater.

But the Panthers endured offensive inconsistency without injured guard Gage Daggett on the floor. After suffering 21 turnovers one night earlier, the Panthers were hampered by 19 this time.

Senior forward Brady Crum scored a game-high 18 points and collected six rebounds. His spinning layup and ensuing 3-point play on another powerful drive sparked a promising 12-2 run.

Cason Chilton suddenly trimmed the margin to 42-40 on a deep 3-pointer with 4:28 remaining, but a key block by Wyatt Smith prevented a possible tying basket.

Players on both sides scrambled for loose balls and engaged in numerous physical battles on the glass. But Arcadia Valley was often a step ahead.

Evan Inman and Keith supplied perfect trips to the line to restore a two-possession spread. Crum made it 46-43 from long range, but Keith countered with free throws before inducing a traveling violation.

Once the outcome was official, AV players and coaches gathered to celebrate with an frenzied student section that roared from start to finish before accepting their trophy.

“The crowd was electric. That’s why after the game, I ran over to show the student section some love,” Prater said. “They did a great job, not just tonight, but all week. It was like a sixth man.”

South Iron hoped to contain the explosive ability of Keith and Jackson by employing a 2-3 zone in the first half, but conceded a number of open looks to their teammates.

The Tigers knocked down eight 3-pointers overall, and each one seemed to occur at a crucial moment. Brayton Jarvis sank three triples off the bench to equal Inman with nine points.

Jarvis punctuated the first quarter from straight away, and continued a 14-0 outburst before Dawson Boesing raced ahead from the backcourt to finish in traffic.

Arcadia Valley achieved its largest lead at 22-8, but the Panthers extended their defense and crashed the boards with more authority to chip away in the second quarter.

Crum muscled in a third chance for a conventional 3-point play, and later drilled a pull-up jumper. A nifty baseline pass from Jules Armstead to Ryder Middleton cut the halftime margin to 27-21.

“At halftime, we talked about those first four minutes of the second half. We needed to stretch the lead and not let them punch us in the face,” Prater said.

“We had to make sure that nothing was a big deal. If they hit a big shot, then we can play offense at the other end. If we turn the ball over, let’s not drop our heads. Just stay composed, keep attacking, and do the things that brought us here.”

Boesing stopped and faded to hit over a double team in the paint, then nailed a 3-pointer on a kickout pass from Jackson to rebuild a 35-25 advantage.

Jackson beat the buzzer from the right wing for a 40-28 lead. Boesing tallied 10 points, and hustled to rescue a late possession in the corner for the Tigers.

Carter St. Gemme scored 11 points, and Wyatt Funk secured seven rebounds for South Iron, which remained empty from 3-point range until striking four times in the final stanza.

Arcadia Valley got three blocks from Smith plus five rebounds from Logan Dunn, and won its home showcase for the first time since 2009.

Fredericktown 55, West County 47

IRONTON – Fredericktown unofficially committed just seven turnovers, and edged West County 55-47 in overtime Thursday night for third place in the Arcadia Valley Thanksgiving Tournament.

Senior guard Blake Terry-Breakfield totaled 12 points, five rebounds and three steals for the fourth-seeded Blackcats, who closed the contest on a 10-0 run.

Terry-Breakfield spun out a slashing layup try as regulation expired, but promptly answered a basket by Bulldogs forward Levi Lashley to begin the extra session.

Consecutive 3-pointers from an open left corner by Mason Cureton and David Slinkard made it 53-47, and Fredericktown (2-1) earned a series of defensive stops from there.

West County (1-2) made only 5-of-14 free throws, but established a 42-39 edge when Wyatt Scherffius buried a short fadeaway near the midway mark of the fourth quarter.

Andrew Robbins answered with his second putback of the period, and Ryder McMinn sank a pair from the line to switch the lead after corralling an excellent outlet pass from Terry-Breakfield.

The Bulldogs trailed 45-43 until Brody Simily rebounded a missed free throw and progressed quickly down the court to finish an aggressive left-handed layup with 8 seconds remaining.

West County carried a 27-23 lead into halftime after patiently attacking a zone. Tatum Harbison and Brody Simily combined for seven first-half assists while steadily finding their post players.

Lashley tallied a game-high 14 points with five rebounds, and Wyatt Simily netted six goals prior to the break before ending with 13.

Robbins claimed seven rebounds and scored nine points to equal Slinkard, whose previous 3-pointer helped Fredericktown forge a 37-37 tie through three quarters.

Dariyon Catchings provided eight points with three steals for the Blackcats, sinking two triples before the break. Cureton chipped in seven points.

Brody Simily amassed nine points and eight rebounds in defeat. Two of his five assists facilitated back-to-back layups by Wyatt Simily that gave the Bulldogs an early 12-4 lead.

Bismarck 74, Clearwater 64

IRONTON – Bismarck guard Austin Dunlap nearly saw his spectacular performance suffer a brutal conclusion at the free-throw line on Thursday night.

But after the Indians wasted a five-point lead in the final 50 seconds, Dunlap benefited from a massive call when his attempt at a heroic 60-foot heave drew a questionable foul.

Dunlap clanged two tosses before sinking the third to force overtime, and tallied 44 points as Bismarck topped Clearwater 74-64 for fifth place in the Arcadia Valley Thanksgiving Tournament.

Talon Goodman drained a corner 3-pointer to regain the lead, and Dunlap added a putback of his own miss as the Indians outscored the Tigers 13-2 during the extra session.

August Martinez compiled 18 rebounds plus 15 points, and Bismarck (2-1) notched a second victory at the event without the availability of two senior starters.

Clearwater (1-2) assumed its largest lead at 55-49 with 2:40 remaining in the fourth quarter following driving layups by Lucian Harris and top scorer Layton Johnson.

Dunlap answered with a personal 11-0 run to suddenly shift the momentum. His fifth and sixth 3-point connections preceded a tiebreaking steal and layup with 1:52 left.

Two free throws made it 60-55 before Johnson made an uncontested layup and Clearwater pressured the Indians into back-to-back turnovers.

A steal by Mikey Barnes and assist to Johnson cut the difference to one. A carrying violation enabled Johnson to dribble through the defense for a 61-60 edge with 8 seconds to play.

Johnson dropped 13 of his 26 points during the fourth quarter for the Tigers. Nathanyol Edmonds had 11 points, and Barnes finished with eight.

Bismarck produced three separate buzzer beaters from long range. Rowan Ryder broke a 16-16 tie to complete the first quarter, and Dunlap put the Indians ahead 36-34 at intermission.

Goodman was held scoreless until closing the third with a triple to lead 43-32, and ended with nine points. His squad was just 13-of-28 from the line.

Martinez pumped in a couple of early putbacks for the Indians, who led 13-6 following a Dunlap 3-pointer and transition layup.

Johnson sparked an 8-0 spurt to briefly put Clearwater in front 16-15.