ALMA — A day after scoring 81 points, Lavaca had less than half of that output Thursday.
The Golden Arrows, though, did more than enough to grind out a 40-34 win against Greenland in the semifinals of the Citizens Bank Airedale Classic at Dyer Arena. It was also the ninth straight win for Lavaca (12-3), which moves into today's championship game against Alma set for 8 p.m.
"That's kind of how this team has been," Lavaca coach Renner Reed said. "When we shoot well, things become easy and when we don't, we're grinding and fighting for ways to win.
"I thought (Thursday), we took some bad shots. ... Then we missed some easy shots, we missed three or four layups and had some bad turnovers there trying to run the offense. I thought Greenland did a really good job of being in position and contesting shots, keeping us from getting second chance points."
On the other hand, the Arrows were getting the job done defensively. Especially in the first half, when they gave up three field goals and held Greenland scoreless in the second quarter.
"That's two-fold (referring to the second-quarter shutout); I think they were stalling a little bit because they were in foul trouble, but these guys can guard," Reed said. "They're some tough-minded kids that know how to play defense and they help each other. ... We blocked out really well (Thursday) and we rebounded well.
"I felt like we got the ball to the offensive side of the floor pretty smooth in transition. The problem was making shots. When we make shots, our defense feeds off of it and when you don't, you've got to buckle down and grind and that's what (Thursday) became. ... Defense was pretty good; hopefully on offense, we're a lot better (today)."
Lavaca trailed 7-2 early before ending the first quarter on a 10-0 run to take a 12-7 lead. While the Arrows held Greenland scoreless in the second quarter, they had only two points themselves to end up with a 14-7 halftime advantage.
The Arrows stretched their lead to 10 points late in the third, when Levi Simpson knocked down a 3-pointer to put Lavaca up, 27-17. Simpson hit another 3 with five minutes left in the game which extended the lead to 12 points, 36-24.
Greenland got within five points in the final seconds, but foul shots by Ryan Dockery and Garrett Eck closed out the win.
"After (Wednesday) where we made 15 3's, maybe it's good for us to have a game like this where we're struggling to score and where we're having to fight and grind out wins," Reed said.
Eck led all scorers with 13 points and made 5-of-10 baskets from the field while Dockery added 11 points to go with three steals. Simpson had eight points and six boards as well.
Alma 29, Elkins 28
GIRLS — Cassidy Cooper had 12 points, including a free throw which turned out to be the decisive point as the Airedalettes survived to win Thursday's Airedale Classic semifinal.
Alma (4-9) will advance to take on Heavener at 6:30 p.m. today for the championship.
The Airedalettes trailed by three midway through the fourth quarter before tying the score at 28-all on a 3-pointer from Hillarie Mata with 2:40 left. Then more than a minute later, Cooper went 1-of-2 from the foul line to break the tie.
Alma was able to hang on at the end, as Elkins was whistled for traveling with 12 seconds left. Elkins got one more chance after an Alma turnover with four seconds to go, but a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer went off the mark.
Heavener 54, Acorn 38
GIRLS — The Lady Wolves were able to advance to today's Airedale Classic championship game after dominating the middle two quarters in Thursday's semifinal win.
Heavener (3-3) trailed 10-8 at the end of the first quarter before outscoring Acorn 15-10 the next quarter to take a 23-20 halftime lead. The Lady Wolves then posted a 15-5 third-quarter edge in building a 38-25 advantage and led by a sizable margin the rest of the way.
Makenzie Wilson had 16 points, including nine in the fourth quarter, to lead the Lady Wolves. She also hit two 3-pointers. Emily Yandell added 11 points for Heavener.
Alma 66, NWA Hornets 33
BOYS — The Airedales rolled past the NWA Hornets in Thursday's semifinal, leading 19-5 at the end of the first quarter and 33-12 at halftime.
Kade Wood had 10 of his team-high 17 points in the first half. Also for the Airedales, Tanner Shelton had 13 points and hit three 3's.
Lavaca 40, Greenland 34 (Boys)
Greenland 7 0 12 15 — 34
Lavaca 12 2 13 13 — 40
Greenland: Overton 10, Tincher 9, Gobel 7, White 5, Watkins 3.
Lavaca: Eck 13, Dockery 11, Simpson 8, Fenner 6, Armistead 2.
Alma 29, Elkins 28 (Girls)
Elkins 10 4 7 7 — 28
Alma 9 7 6 7 — 29
Elkins: Harris 7, Diaville 6, Miller 6, Burton 3, Coleman 3, Hollingsworth 3.
Alma: Cooper 12, Bailey 7, Mata 6, Hoffsommer 2, Longmate 2.