ALMA — The Alma Airedales won a basketball game Tuesday night they might have lost a few weeks ago.
Preparation, trust in the process, and some timely free throws sealed the Airedales' 53-47 win over Providence Academy at Charles B. Dyer Arena.
Alma, which trailed for much of the game, took the lead for good on Bobby Winfrey's basket with 6:31 left. Tanner Shelton's driving layup and Kade Wood's bucket at the 5:16 mark stretched Alma's lead to five.
Providence Academy, which got 15 points from UAFS-bound Matiss Sivins, got no closer than three the rest of way.
"We didn't get off the greatest start, but we didn't get too far down, either," Alma coach Stan Flenor said. "We just sort of hung in there. We finally figured out that we needed to attack."
The game had a different feel to it. The Airedales and Patriots don't have a deep history.
But, with the 6-foot-8 Sivins, and 6-5 and 6-4 guards J.D. Siemens and Adam Philip, Providence Academy presented the Airedales with some match-up problems.
"It's a little different," Wood said. "We're not used to people like that. But coach prepared us well and rebounds, obviously, were big."
Wood, in addition to scoring 13 points, also pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.
The Airedales overcame 11-of-21 shooting from the foul line.
"We got to the basket and attacked the rim, but unfortunately we weren't able to convert those from the line," Flenor said. "Going 11-of-21 will get you beat most nights."
Alma took a 12-10 lead after a quarter on Ceejay Mann's buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
But Sivins drained a 3-pointer at the end of the half to give Providence Academy a 22-19 lead at the break. The Patriots led by as many as five (28-23) in the third quarter before Mann hit a triple and Brayden Johnson hit a layup to tie the game.
"We worked hard and practiced rebounding all week," Garrison Jensen said. "We focused on the defensive side.
"We used the momentum on the defensive side."
Alma 59, Providence Academy 46
GIRLS — The Alma Airedalettes jumped on Providence Academy on Tuesday night. And it's a good thing, too.
Alma built a 15-point halftime lead, battled through a second half scoring drought, and then pulled away late for a 59-46 victory at Charles B. Dyer Arena.
Alma's Sierra Bailey scored 10 of her game-high 17 points in the first half. She also pulled down 10 first half rebounds.
The Airedalettes, who dropped a heartbreaking 39-38 decision to Russellville last week, saw their lead cut to five before before Bailey hit a layup to stop the momentum.
Sophomore Hillarie Mata hit three first-half 3-pointers and finished with 12 points. Brooke Yates was also big for the Airedalettes, scoring 16 points.