Prairie Central gets defensive in win over Pleasant Plains
WILLIAMSVILLE — Defense was the strength for Prairie Central as the Hawks pulled away from Pleasant Plains 41-27 in the final game of the IPC-Sangamo Shootout Saturday.
In looking at the final, it could lead one to think that Plains held the ball, and that both teams weren't really pushing the issue. But neither was the case. Head coach Darin Bazzell felt his team deserved some of the credit for the low scoring simply because it played superb defense.
“We really made them work,” Bazzell said. “It's not like they weren't trying to get shots, they were just limited on the looks they were getting.”
The Cardinals managed just nine points in the second half, including just two in the third quarter. Those came on a basket 31 seconds into the period. Plains didn't score the rest of the quarter.
“Give them a lot of credit for the way they guarded us,” said Plains head coach Kyle Weber. “It was tough for us to score. The second half, it was a lot harder for us to get a basket.”
But credit has t be given the Cardinals for how they were able to keep the third-ranked Hawks in check. The big thing for PC was being able to connect at key moments.
“We pushed the ball when we were ready to,” Bazzell said. “We had guys who were getting a little winded because we were playing pretty good defense. It's not like we held the ball, we had to work to get good shots. We were patient and got good shots. I liked seeing that.:
The Hawks scored the first seven points of the game, and then after spotting Plains two points to open the second half, PC scored the final six points of the low-scoring third and outscored the Cardinals 9-3 to open the fourth frame and build a 34-23 lead.
The way the game was flowing, that was pretty much it as Prairie Central relied on its discipline and experience to put the game away. Camden Palmore hit a pair of free throws, Drew Fehr added one charity toss and Tyler Curl dropped two tosses before Palmore closed out the game with a basket inside.
“I think both teams are disciplined, I don't either team really took bad shots,” Bazzell said.
The first half was the type of play fans likely expected in the marquee matchup of the day. The Hawks jumped out to a 7-0 lead only to lead by 9-7 difference by the end of the first period.
Plains forged two ties and the teams traded leads three times in the second quarter before the Hawks settled for a 19-18 advantage at the intermission.
“I knew they were strong and athletic, but they guarded better than what I had seen on film,” Weber said of the Hawks.
Curl was named the game's MVP after leading Prairie Central (23-2) with 13 points. Dylan Bazzell added 10 points and Palmore scored 7. gage Steidinger tossed in 6 markers with Fehr chalking up 5 points.
Evan Houser led Pleasant Plains (19-6) with 13 points and Zach Powell tallied 11 markers. Tristen Gleason had the other 3 points.
This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: Prairie Central gets defensive in win over Pleasant Plains
