Mid-Prairie falls short to Durant

The Mid-Prairie Golden Hawks boys? basketball team was on the wrong end of some late-game heroics in its match against Durant Friday. The game was tied at 40 as the clock wound down in the final seconds of the second half. Durant nailed a three-pointer with 1.2 seconds left. The Golden Hawks had one last chance to tie the game but turned the ball over on the in-bounds play, forcing them to foul. Durant sank one free throw and that was all she wrote as Durant won 44-40.

?We played a great defensive game,? said Mid-Prairie coach Don Showalter. ?Durant had been playing some very good basketball and we were in the game for the entire four quarters. Our young, inexperienced team show some outstanding heart and effort for all four quarters.?

Sophomore Reid Miller led the Golden Hawks in scoring with 11 points, including 5-8 shooting from the floor and 1-1 from behind the arc. Senior Alex McKee-Crow finished with seven points and led his team in rebounding with seven. Sophomore Austin Errthum tallied five points, one three-pointer and two assists. Senior Jaemin Powell also had five points to go with two assists.

Other players who scored for Mid-Prairie were Spencer Shalla (4), Nick Stimson (2), Nathan Faselt (2), Canaan Powell (2) and Tim Chmelar (2).

?I thought Alex McKee-Crow played his best game of the year, as did Reid Miller,? Showalter said. ?Durant played a tough defensive game on Jaemin Powell as teams are going to work hard to defend him as he is the only returning player from last season.?

Mid-Prairie out-rebounded Durant 28-21, which Showalter said allowed his team to keep the game close all the way to the end.

?This is a fun team to coach as they are excellent teammates,? he said. ?Canaan Powell had four assists and three rebounds. Spencer Shalla continues to improve his floor game. Tim Chmelar came off the bench to play well, as did Elliot Runciman and Ryan Hoffman. Nathan Faselt continues to improve his play at the forward spot.?