C3D1: East Prairie ends season for Royals

PORTAGEVILLE — The East Prairie offense wasn’t going to be denied.

With the Twin Rivers Royals struggling to hold strong on the defensive end, the East Prairie Eagles took full advantage as both teams went head-to-head on Tuesday in the first round of the Class 3 District 1 Boys Basketball Tournament at Portageville High School.

East Prairie relied on guard Connor Marcum to lead the way as the Eagles charged past Twin Rivers 73-47 to snag a spot in the C3D1 semifinals. Marcum led East Prairie with 28 points.

Twin Rivers head coach Seth McBroom said it was a tough game from the start, but he was happy with how the Royals fought the entire game.

“We got in a hole early,” McBroom said. “We fought back and got within 13 midway through the fourth, but East Prairie went on a big run to close out the game, and it’s a really tough loss. I really appreciate our seniors and all the players for their work and effort all year.”

With the Royals entering the contest on a three-game winning streak to close out the season, they needed to have their game plan solid if they wanted to sneak past the Eagles. The last time these two faced was earlier in the season when East Prairie walked away with a 69-49 win, so the game’s momentum was on their side.

East Prairie got the game rolling in the opening quarter with a three from Marcum right out of the gate, which set the tone for the Eagles. After a few trips down the floor, the Royals finally connected with a quick bucket with a steal and jumper from senior Brett Robards.

While the Royals struggled to find the basket early on, East Prairie saw no issues as they pushed the ball nonstop for multiple transition baskets. The Eagles pulled away from the Royals midway through the first to close out the quarter with a 24-13 lead.

The Royals needed to regroup after the half for the chance of a comeback. East Prairie kicked off the second half with a quick basket, but the Royals would quickly respond with one of their own. Despite trailing, the Royals kept attacking the basket, hoping for a run. No matter the scheme the Royals cooked up at halftime, it wouldn’t be a factor as East Prairie continued to stay in their groove.

Though the Royals were able to capitalize offensively for most of the third quarter, their defense badly needed an adjustment as East Prairie still managed to find an open hole to the basket. While trailing 57-41 to start the last period, the Royals needed to kick their energy into high gear if they had any plans of trimming the lead before the final buzzer.

After playing man-to-man defense for most of the game, the Royals decided to utilize the trap defense for an opportunity to slow down East Prairie’s offensive explosiveness. No matter what adjustments the Royals attempted to make, East Prairie stuck to their game plan for a trip to the next round.

Adding to the offense for East Praire was Noah Johnson, who chipped in with 17 points, while Ty Wallace added with 11.

Jake Hester led the Royals with 15 points, Luke Hester had 11 and 10 points for Zach Joiner.

East Prairie will play the Malden Green Wave in the semifinals on Thursday at Portageville High School.