Pirates notch 20th win, claim top seed in districts

Moreland’s 4-point play helps Pirates take double OT nail-biter against Marionville
 
The Ash Grove High School boys’ basketball team added two more wins last week—both in overtime—to improve their record to 20-3 on the season.
Versus Stockton
The Pirates traveled to Stockton on Friday, Feb. 11 and came home with a 61-56 overtime victory.
Ash Grove and Stockton battled tooth and nail the entire game before ending regulation play in a 53-53 tie. But the Pirates prevailed by five points at the final overtime tick.
“This was another big time win for our guys,” said head coach Grant Williamson. “Stockton is a very solid team. It’s not very often you get two overtime games in the same week and to come out on top in both is a testament to our guys’ grit and togetherness.”
Brady Nicholson paced Ash Grove with 15 points, Brock Mooneyham added 14 points, Sam Moreland had 13 points and Nate Trammell ended the game with 12 points.
Versus Marionville
Ash Grove opened the week by hosting Marionville on Tuesday, Feb. 8, and was able to pull out a 78-75 double overtime victory in what will be remembered as one of the more fantastic games in school history.
The Pirates jumped out toa 14-9 first quarter lead but Marionville fought back and closed the gap to 26-24 by halftime. Ash Grove put up 19 points in the final quarter to tie the game at 59-59 to force overtime.
As the end of overtime neared—with Ash Grove down four points—Pirate Sam Moreland completed an unlikely four-point play with five seconds left on the clock, forcing a second overtime, knotted up at 64-64
In the second overtime period, Ash Grove outscored Marionville 14-11 to win the exhausting game.
“This was a really good high school basketball game,” said Williamson. “Both teams competed their tails off. The atmosphere and fans were incredible. Our guys showed incredible grit and never gave up.”
Moreland led Ash Grove with 29 points and Nicholson added 28 points in the win.
Ash Grove was scheduled to play at Pleasant Hope, last night and at Buffalo, tomorrow night.
Districts start this weekend
The Class 3, District 12 Tournament is scheduled to get underway this Saturday in Diamond, but with the Pirates being the top seed, they will get a first-round bye and won’t play until Wednesday, Feb. 23, against the Sarcoxie/Clever
winner.
Diamond is the No. 2 seed, followed by Southwest (Washburn), Sarcoxie, Clever and Pierce City.