Mohawks wrap up regular season

Mohawk Alek Samples goes up aggressively in action Thursday night against Harrisburg. Also pictured for the Tribe are, from left--Trent Edwards and Tanner Murray. ( Times photo/Tim Blair) [Click to enlarge]

The Piggott Mohawks wrapped up their regular season last week, dropping a three point decision on senior night Thursday at PHS to the Harrisburg Hornets and then losing a road game to the Earle Bulldogs on Friday. The Tribe was scheduled to take on the Hoxie Mustangs in the first round of the district tournament at Earle Tuesday afternoon.

Prior to the start of last Thursday's home game with Harrisburg, a contest that had been re-scheduled twice due to bad weather, the Mohawks honored their lone senior--Trent Edwards. During the senior night ceremony the three members of the Lady Mohawk basketball team were also recognized, along with five members of the PHS cheerleading squad.

The two teams were meeting for just the second time this year, as the Tribe had beaten the Hornets 65-63 in the Pre-Holiday Tournament at Weiner back on Dec. 12.

As the contest got underway the Mohawks came out cold, and didn't get their first basket until Hayden McMillon came off the bench and hit a couple of big field goals mid-way through the first period. By the end of the first quarter the Tribe was down by four, as Harrisburg held on to a 16-12 lead.

During the second period the Hornets tried to put on a run early, and the Tribe again had trouble scoring. The drought ended with a Zach Redmon field goal, and free throw, to pull the Mohawks back to within two points at the 3:08 mark of the second quarter.

The end of the first half also provided some drama, as the Hornets ran the clock down for the final shot. That came on a three-point basket by Zach Davis with just seconds to go in the half. On the ensuing in-bound play Mohawk Alek Samples put up a shot from well-beyond mid-court and made the long distance three as time expired. That gave the Hornets a 32-29 advantage at the halftime intermission, and fired-up the home crowd.

As the second half got underway the Mohawks got a couple of good defensive plays from Tanner Murray, and following a Redmon rebound and put-back they were able to take the lead with 4:50 to play in the third. The Mohawks extended that to a four point lead by the 2:45 mark, but the Hornets responded with a couple of big three-pointers from Davis. Harrisburg regained the lead with 1:30 to play, but the Mohawks tied the game again at 38-38 with time running out in the period. The Hornets sealed the deal with a three pointer at the buzzer, as they took a 38-42 lead into the final frame.

Samples began the fourth with a trey, cutting the lead to 41-42, but Harrisburg responded. By midway through the quarter the Hornets were up six, 43-49 and things slowed down a bit. Samples responded with another big three with just under a minute to play, and the Hornets lead was three at 46-49.

Although both teams had shots down the stretch, neither squad could add any more points and that became the final score.

Samples led the Mohawks in scoring on the game with 14, while McMurray and McMillon were both in double figures with 10 each. Also scoring were Jon Perkins and Zach Redmon with five each, while senior Trent Edwards finished with two points in his final appearance at PHS.

The following evening the Mohawks traveled to Earle for a make-up game, and dropped the conference contest to the Bulldogs.

With the two losses the Mohawks end their regular season at 5-16 overall and 2-11 in 3A-3 conference play. The good news for the squad is the fact that all but Edwards will be returning next year, along with a good crop moving up from the junior high team.

Tuesday afternoon the Mohawks were scheduled to take on the Hoxie Mustangs in the first round of the district tournament at Earle High School. As of press time no final score was available, and we'll have the details in next week's edition.