Mohawks nipped by Hounds

Tanner Murray (20) scores down low for the Piggott Mohawks in action Thursday night at Marmaduke. Also pictured for the Tribe are, from left--Trent Edwards (23) and Hayden McMillon (11). (Times photo/Tim Blair) [Click to enlarge]

The Piggott Mohawks traveled to Marmaduke Thursday night for a non-conference set with the Greyhounds, playing in the last two of four games that afternoon and evening. In the early game the junior Mohawks gave the Hounds a late scare, but fell 42-55. In the varsity game Marmaduke jumped out to an early lead and held-off a late Mohawk challenge to post a 67-51 non-conference win.

Junior Mohawks

The Piggott junior Mohawks continue to look strong in the early goings of the season, despite some rust and conditioning issues. Thursday night the junior boys jumped on the Marmaduke Greyhounds early, but faded late.

In the first quarter of play the Mohawks size and speed game Marmaduke match-up problems, and the Tribe jumped to a 15-10 lead after one. In the second frame the Hounds pulled back into contention, but the Piggott squad took a 23-21 lead into the locker room at the half.

In the third quarter the Greyhounds outscored the Mohawks 19-11 as they led 40-34 going into the final frame. The home team stretched that score even further in the fourth period, as they notched the 55-42 win.

Collin Benbrook paced the Mohawks with 12 points on the game, while Luke Brewer and Austin Murray had eight points each. Denver Knight was top point man for the Hounds with 24 in the win.

Another telling tale of the game was the free-throw shooting. The Mohawks made only four trips to the charity stripe on the game, and made them all. Meanwhile, the junior Hounds visited the free throw line 22 times on the game and converted on 17 of those attempts.

Senior Mohawks

In their first game of the season the Piggott Mohawks jumped out to a big lead on the Tuckerman Bulldogs, then faded late..even though at one point they enjoyed a 15 point lead. Thursday night was a bit of the opposite, as the Tribe watched the Marmaduke Greyhounds run out to a big lead and then outscored the home team down the stretch. But it was too little, too late, for the Mohawks as they dropped the non-conference game 51-67.

In the early going of the contest Marmaduke's Tyler Nailing hit several of his game-high five three-pointers to give the Hounds the lead. With the Mohawks having a hard time scoring, the home team extended their lead to 36-15 by the halftime intermission.

But in the second half of play the Mohawks began to gel, as they outscored the Hounds in the quarter. "We came out and won the third quarter, and played even in the fourth, but we were already too far behind," noted Piggott coach Josh Robins. In fact, in the second half of play the Mohawks outscored the Greyhounds 36-31.

Leading the way for the Tribe was Hayden McMillon with 14 points, while Alek Samples was also in double figures with 11. Nailing led the Hounds in scoring with 15, all coming on his five three point baskets.

With the loss the Mohawks fall to 0-2 overall and 0-1 in 3A-3 conference play. Meanwhile, the Greyhounds extend their season record to 6-1 with the non-conference victory.

Tuesday evening the Mohawks were scheduled to host non-conference Gosnell at PHS, and Thursday, Nov. 20 the Tribe will travel to Tuckerman for a re-match with the Bulldogs. The Mohawks will visit Corning Tuesday, Nov. 24 and will then be off for the Thanksgiving holiday. They'll resume play Tuesday, Dec. 1 at Harrisburg and will be playing in a tournament at Cooter later that week.