By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Thursday’s Eminence vs. Dora game had everything you could want in a high school basketball contest.
A pair of state-ranked Class 1 teams going at it for a chance to play undefeated, state-ranked Thayer in the championship of the area’s premier small-school holiday tournament.
*insert flame emoji here*
And, in a matchup known for the great young talent, it was a senior that delivered the knockout blow.
Eminence guard Ethan Drake’s 3-pointer with less than two minutes to play helped ignite a spark that led the Redwings to a 71-66 win over Dora in the semifinals of the Cabool Holiday Tournament.
“As our point guard he’s such an important player in terms of taking care of the ball and getting it where it needs to be, but he also has to make shots and score,” said Eminence coach Pete McBride. “We ask him to do a lot for us. He hit some huge shots tonight.”
Drake finished with 15 points, including five first-quarter points back-to-back that helped ignite a 12-0 run that saw Eminence take an early lead that they wouldn’t give up until the fourth quarter.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
The Redwings dominated much of the first half and third quarter, scoring the first four points of the second half to take a 44-29 lead.
That’s when Dora, led by freshman Mason Luna, woke up.
Luna scored 19 of his team’s 22 third quarter-points, helping take them from down 15 to down three by the end of the quarter.
“He shot the ball well; he was on fire there for a bit,” said Dora coach Rick Luna. “The great thing about this team is that if someone is struggling or getting shut down then we have enough weapons to have someone else step up. That’s big and that’s a great makeup of a team, that it’s not just one guy.”
The Falcons would retake the lead midway through the fourth quarter on a layup by freshman Isaac Haney.
Haney entered the game averaging more than 21 per contest, but was held to a hard-earned 15 points thanks to smothering defense by Reece Parish and Robert Keeling.
McBride referred to the freshman as the local version of Steph Curry.
The back-and-forth pattern of the game’s final minutes ended with less than 10 seconds to play when a controversial intentional foul was assessed to Dora, ending the Falcons comeback bid.
While Drake put the finishing touches on the game by sinking three of his four free throw attempts, it was teammate Trent McBride that shoulder much of the load throughout, finishing with 26 points and 17 rebounds.
“He’s so physical and we did a poor job of keeping him off the boards,” said Luna. “At 6-foot-6 he’s a tough matchup and you have to have a body on him every possession. We didn’t do that tonight.”
Junior Grant Dyer also poured in 22 for Eminence. Haney added 15 points for Dora.
The game was an instant classic and won’t mark the last time these two will see each other. There’s a regular season contest scheduled, as well as the looming Sectional tilt should both teams win districts.
Both coaches agree that the level of play seen in the tournament field, and playing each other, doesn’t hurt either program.
“It’s huge for us,” said McBride. “It’s important to see the guys you’re going to play. Tonight we played well, but for us to have to respond to their run and get a stop late was huge for us, especially in that environment against a quality opponent. It helps you down the road.”
Luna added: “Our schedule is tough and it’s not going to get any easier but that’s what we wanted for them. I would rather lose in a tough battle than beat someone by 60 and in the end it’s only going to make them better.”
Eminence will take on Dora Thursday for the championship of the Cabool Tournament. Dora will see MV-BT/Liberty in the third-place game.
Eminence 71, Dora 66
Eminence 24-16-14-17 – 71
Dora 17-12-22-15 – 66
Eminence – Drake 15, W. Dyer 3, Keeling 1, G. Dyer 22, McBride 26, Parish 4.
Dora – M. Luna 31, Haney 15, Harris 9, A. Luna 5, B. Luna 3, McKemie 3
