Ash Grove Pirates fall to Stockton, Marionville in down week

Lady Pirates drop close one to Marionville, far one to Stockton

It was a rough go last week for the Ash Grove High School boys’ and girls’ basketball teams as they both lost games to Stockton and Marionville.
The Class 2, seventh-ranked Pirates hosted Stockton on Friday, Feb. 10, for the school district's homecoming competition but were not able to win the game, losing 62-50. Ash Grove's offense sputtered in the first half, managing only 21 points to Stockton's 29 at the break. But the host Pirates climbed back and even surpassed the Tigers in the fourth quarter, with a score of 43-42. But Stockton rallied back, eventually taking the lead for good as the Pirate offense struggled.    
"Stockton's length and size really gave us some fits around the basket,” said Ash Grove head coach Grant Williamson. “We defended pretty well but just couldn't quite get the looks on the offensive end. We will look to bounce back on Monday for senior night." Brady Nicholson, who kept the Pirates in the game with timely buckets, had 31 points in the loss.
Earlier in the week, Ash Grove traveled to Marionville on Tuesday, Feb. 7, and came home with a 57-45 loss.
The Pirates led 27-26 at the half, but Marionville took over after the break, outscoring the Pirates 14-8 in the third quarter and 17-10 in the final quarter.
"Our guys defended really well and gave them a chance,” said Williamson. “Little things go a long way when you’re playing good teams like them, and they just did those little things slightly better than us tonight."
Asher Rust paced Ash Grove with 22 points and Nicholson added 13 points in the loss.
The Pirates are now 18-5 on the season and were scheduled to host Pleasant Hope on Monday and Buffalo tomorrow night.

Girls
The Lady Pirates hosted Stockton on Thursday, Feb. 9, but fell, 42-20.
Stockton jumped out to an 11-4 first quarter lead, but the Lady Pirates were able to close the deficit by halftime, trailing just 15-11. Stockton played good defense and shot the ball well in the second half, holding Ash Grove to just nine points.
Bethany Wheeler led Ash Grove with 10 points.
The Lady Pirates opened the week by traveling to Marionville on Monday, Feb. 6, but came home with a close 41-38 loss.
Ash Grove led 12-11 after the first quarter but the Lady Comets clamped down on defense in the second quarter, allowing just one point, to take a 19-13 lead into the half. Marionville increased that lead to 31-20 by the end of the third quarter, before Ash Grove put up 18 points in the fourth quarter to make it a close game.
Madison Lutz led the Lady Pirates with 12 points and Cora Duit added 10 points in the game.
The Lady Pirates are 7-16 this year and were scheduled to host Pleasant Hope on Monday and Buffalo tomorrow night.