By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
FAIR GROVE, MO – Coach Herb Brooks once said, “Great moments are born from great opportunity.”
Monday night’s moment belonged to Easton Pitts.
The Thayer senior poured in a game-high 29 points to help lead No. 4 Thayer to a 70-61 victory over Fair Grove in the Class 2 sectional round.
Pitts’ box score included a 14-point, third-quarter outburst with four 3-pointers.
The 5-foot-9 guard found repeated scoring opportunities thanks in part to matchup threats from Bobcat teammates.
“I didn’t make much from behind the arc in the first half, and percentages are going to even out,” Pitts said. “Devin (Harrington) was in the corner – you couldn’t really help off him much – and Hollis (Deckard) is shooting it good, too, so I was able to get into gaps without really any help, and I was just able to get to the rim and finish.”
Pitts was joined in double figures by Harrington (16) and Brandon Prince (13).
All three players were effective from the opening tip, combining for 14 of Thayer’s 17 points in the first quarter.
The early onslaught paced the Bobcats to a double-digit, 17-7 lead at the end of the period.
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Fair Grove rallied in the second quarter behind a quartet of 3-pointers from Sam Kennard and Kyle Winterberg; however, the Eagles were only able to slightly cut into the lead and headed to the locker room down 33-25 at the half.
For Bobcats head coach Matt Pitts, tough games that can swing on just a couple possessions have been the norm rather than the exception this season.
“All year long, it’s not been easy for us,” Coach Pitts said. “We’ve won a lot of games, but we’ve won a lot of close games. To be able to be in those situations, I think it really helps out in a game like today. Our two district games were not easy, they were hard. We had to play 32 minutes to win them, and we had to play 32 again today.”
In the third quarter, Fair Grove looked to challenge once again thanks to red-hot perimeter shooting from Spensar Seiger, Brock Boatwright and Bryden Baxter.
Only problem for the Eagles was the fact Thayer’s shooters – Easton Pitts, in particular – were just as effective, answering Fair Grove’s baskets shot-for-shot during a thrilling four-minute stretch of basketball.
The Bobcats and Easton Pitts put an emphatic stamp on the quarter with an alley-oop dunk assist to Harrington with 10 seconds left, pushing the Thayer lead to 11 at 55-44.
Coach Pitts was pleased to see hard work from his team, and Easton, pay off during the sectional round win.
“He’s just a guy that works his tail off, and it’s good to see kids that work have success,” Coach Pitts said. “Sometimes – him being mine – I push him to the back, but tonight, that dude did it. He kept us going, and then those other guys just jumped right in. It was a team deal but, man, Easton made some huge shots.”
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Thayer stretched its lead to 14 late in the final period on a backdoor cut layup from – who else – Easton Pitts.
A late Sam Kennard 3-pointer cut the Thayer lead to 7 points with just over a minute remaining; however, the Eagles couldn’t close the gap any further due to Thayer’s effectiveness from the free throw line down the stretch (5-6).
Fair Grove, the Class 3 District 9 champion, ends its season with an 18-11 record.
Baxter led the Eagles with 15 points – 8 of which were posted in the final quarter. Winterburg (14), Kennard (13) and Seiger (12) also finished in double figures.
“We shot it well tonight,” Fair Grove head coach Bryan Tucker said. “I told our kids in the locker room, ‘Sometimes you just have to tip your cap to kids that make incredibly difficult shots,’ and Easton Pitts made some very difficult shots, and he put them on his back. Every time we made a big shot, it was in his hands – and he responded.”
Up next for No. 4 Thayer (23-4) is a March 7 quarterfinal round matchup against Lamar at home. The Bobcats will be seeking a fourth-straight trip to the final four.
Class 2 District 10 Final: Thayer – 70, Fair Grove – 61
Thayer 17 16 22 15 – 70
Fair Grove 07 18 19 17 – 61
Thayer scoring: Easton Pitts – 29, Devin Harrington – 16, Brandon Prince – 13, Cooper Clark – 7, Hollis Deckard – 5
Fair Grove scoring: Bryden Baxter – 15; Kyle Winterberg – 14; Sam Kennard – 13; Spensar Seiger – 12; Brock Boatwright – 3, Kellen Lair – 2; Kellen Kirkpatrick – 2
