Pirates pick up two more wins, now ranked fourth in state

Lady Pirates defeat Lockwood, pick up sixth win of season

The Missouri Class 2, fourth ranked Ash Grove boys’ basketball team picked up two more wins last week, knocking off Pierce City and Lockwood.
The Pirates traveled to Pierce City on Friday, Jan. 27, and came home with an easy 32-point, 73-41, victory.
Ash Grove led 21-11 after the first quarter and 44-21 at the half. Pierce City did manage to put up 15 points in the third quarter, but the Pirates added 19 points to increase their lead to 63-36 by the end of the quarter.
"Our guys played with a lot of focus and really played a complete game from start to finish,” said head coach Grant Williamson. “Everyone had great energy and it led to a lot of execution on both ends of the floor."
Brady Nicholson led Ash Grove with 34 points, Tyler Tummons added 13 points and Asher Rust ended the game with 11 points.
Ash Grove opened the week at home by hosting Lockwood, and defeating them by nine points, 46-37.
The Pirates jumped out to a 17-10 first quarter lead and were able to increase that to 32-22 by the half.
"It is always nice to get to play at home in front of our fans especially when we can pick up a win,” said Williamson.
Nicholson paced Ash Grove with 29 points.
The Pirates are now 17-3 on the season and were scheduled to play at Miller last night, although was likely called off due to inclement weather.
    
Lady Pirates
The Lady Pirates traveled to Pierce City on Thursday, Jan. 26, and came home with 58-41 loss for their troubles.
Pierce City led 17-8 after the first quarter and 27-13 at the half. The Lady Pirates played better in the second half but it wasn't enough. Madison Lutz led Ash Grove with 11 points.
The Lady Pirates hosted Lockwood to begin the week and earned a 44-21 win.
A low scoring first quarter, saw Ash Grove lead 6-3, but the Lady Pirates busted out for 16 points in the second quarter to push their lead to 22-10 at the half. Ash Grove continued to play good defense and shoot the ball well in the second half, holding Lockwood to just 11 total points, while scoring 22 points to win the game by 23 points.
Savanna Pratt led the Lady Pirates with 12 points.
Ash Grove is now 6-13 on the season and were scheduled to travel to Miller last night before heading to Greenwood tomorrow night.