Pirates end regular season with 19 wins; Lady Pirates fall to Buffalo in close one

Ash Grove boys top seed in district tournament, Lady Pirates fifth seed in tournament

The Ash Grove High School boys’ and girls’ basketball teams both wrapped up their regular season last week, with the Pirates winning one of their two games, while the Lady Pirates lost both of theirs.
The Pirates started the week by hosting Pleasant Hope on Monday, Feb. 13, and came away with a 29-point, 79-50 win. "Our guys all played really well. It is always great to win on Senior Night,” said Williamson. “Shoutout to our five seniors. Those guys deserve a lot of credit for all of their hard work."
Nicholson led all scorers with 40 points and Tyler Tummons added 10 points in the win. Seniors recognized for the evening were Brock Mooneyham, Nate Trammell, Elijah Morrison, Wyatt Dennis and Tyler Tummons.
Ash Grove hosted Buffalo on Thursday, Feb. 16, but fell to the Bison 52-48. The Pirates led 24-19 at the half but a 21-point third quarter is what turned the game around for Buffalo as they erased the Pirates lead and took a 40-33 lead into the fourth quarter. Ash Grove battled throughout the fourth quarter, scoring 15 points but it would not be enough as they would fall four points short. "This was one of those nights where you play OK but just can't get anything to fall,” said head coach Grant Williamson. “We shot the ball poorly. Our worst of the season yet still had opportunities to win. You always want to end the regular season with a win, but now our focus is on post season play." Brady Nicholson led Ash Grove with 29 points.
Ash Grove ended their regular season with a 19-6 record and now will be the No. 1 seed in this week's Class 2, District 13 tournament at Ash Grove.
Weaubleau is the second seed, followed by Marion C. Early, Liberal, Osceola, Jasper and Greenfield. The tournament was set to kick off on Monday night, with Ash Grove playing the winner of Liberal/Osceola in the semifinals tonight. The championship game will be played on Friday night.

Girls
The Lady Pirates also hosted Pleasant Hope on Monday, Feb. 13, but lost, 56-39.
Pleasant Hope jumped out to a 17-6 first quarter lead and increased that lead to 40-15 by halftime. Ash Grove played much better in the second half, scoring a total of 24 points, while just allowing 16 points.
Madison Lutz led Ash Grove with 13 points.
The Lady Pirates hosted Buffalo on Thursday, Feb. 16, but lost to the Lady Bison 42-35.
Both teams were tied at 5-5 after the first quarter, before Ash Grove went for 11 points in the second quarter to take a 16-13 halftime lead. The Lady Pirates increased that lead to 28-23 by the end of the third quarter, but a 19-point third quarter by Buffalo put the Lady Bison in the driver’s seat for a seven-point win.
Cora Duit led Ash Grove with 16 points in the loss.
Ash Grove finishes the regular season with a 7-18 record and will now get ready to play in this week’s Class 2, District 13 tournament at Morrisville. Miller is the top seed in the tournament, followed by Marion C. Early, Lakeland, Osceola, Ash Grove and Weaubleau.
The opening round was scheduled to be played yesterday with Ash Grove playing against Osceola, and Lakeland taking on Weaubleau. The semifinals are scheduled for tomorrow and the championship game will be played on Saturday.