UNIONTOWN — Marmaton Valley High boys lost in a heartbreaker Friday night to Uniontown’s squad by some key free throws in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles took the contest 32-31 over the Wildcats. Late in the fourth quarter the Wildcats held a 31-30 lead, until a stolen pass led to a foul and two made free throws from the Eagles for the win.
“I thought we played well, we just didn’t execute on offense and we missed some easy layups,” Head Coach Tim Stinnett said.
The game was close through all four quarters. The Wildcats held a one-point lead over the Eagles after three quarters. However, a poor offensive showing in the fourth quarter gave Uniontown the chance to come from behind.
Junior Chance Stevenson led the scoring for the Wildcats with nine points, followed by senior Nathan Smart with eight. Smart also led the team in rebounds, bringing down five.
Stinnett cited some “jitters” that led to some poor offensivee play for the first game of the season. He said the players were hesitant on offense and held back when shooting the ball, which he attributed to a lack of experience in game-time situations. The team turned over the ball 16 times.
Overall, the Wildcats only landed 13 buckets from the field on 38 attempts, 32 percent. They scored four points from the line on nine attempts.
Stinnett said he hopes to remedy the “passive” attitude with his team, before they play Northeast High in their preseason tournament on Tuesday.
“It should be a very close game,” Stinnett said. “We lost by two to Northeast last year.”
Eagles rally in fourth quarter to defeat MV boys
