IRONTON – For the fourth straight year, the Arcadia Valley Thanksgiving tournament was part of South Iron while everyone else battled for second place.
The Panthers celebrated their third win of the week amid a continuous clock, beating Fredericktown in the championship competition on Thursday evening with 68:37.
Drenin Dinkins scored 23 points and 12 rebounds, both game highs, and together with his senior colleagues DJ Prater and Champ McMurry, set a perfect 12-0 varsity record during the 95-year event.
Prater scored five assists before halftime and scored his second double-double in a row with 11 points and 10 rebounds when South Iron (3-0) pocketed 14 of 15 free throws.
Fredericktown (2-1) reached their first Thanksgiving final in nine years after a dramatic comeback in the semifinals and a buzzer against West County.
But the Blackcats were surpassed by the reigning Class 1 state champions, who opened the game with a high quality range of shots and burned their opponents several times in transition.
Andrew Starkey finished with 13 points and Senior Guard Lane Sikes added nine to three 3-point points for a club that unofficially made 19 turnovers.
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South Iron was 7-0 and eventually 12-3 with consecutive 3-pointers from McMurry and Martez Burse who had 9 and 11 points respectively.
Fredericktown was limited to five field goals scored in the first half, three of which belonged to Starkey on medium-range or perimeter jumpers.
Dinkins drove the length of the course for a mind-boggling reverse layup after tucking the ball under the rim with a double clutch, then sank two 3-pointers to take a 47-16 halftime lead.
Sikes hit twice from the perimeter, and the Blackcats took a 16-15 point lead in the third period when South Iron suffered a short stretch of casual loss.
Cohlbe Dunnahoo scored seven points for third seeded Fredericktown, who lost reserve shooter Mark Heine to a knee injury in the third quarter when he broke an exhaust pass.
Arcadia Valley 67, West County 62
IRONTON – Arcadia Valley dominated the first half of their home tournament for third place against a West County team that stumbled from a late-minute breakdown less than 24 hours earlier.
The Tigers saw their 20-point half-time advantage shrink to two possession of the ball in the last moments on Thursday evening, but held on for a 67:62 triumph.
Jackson Dement delivered 18 points plus eight rebounds, and Willie Carter had his strongest performance of the week with 15 points for Arcadia Valley (2-1).
Colin Whited scored with a weak rebound and Gavan Douglas finished a 14-2 run from long distance as the Tigers finished the first quarter 18-6.
West County shot a miserable 3-of-27 off the field before the break and was 35-15 back after AV back-up center Brandon Logan hit two color shots.
Dement finished the third quarter with a 3-pointer dancing around the edge and failing on the buzzer, then starting the fourth with a hard pull to restore a 52:37 difference.
West County (1-2) showed resilience after Carter hit 45-27 with a 3-pointer and transition layup. Freshman Ty Harlow sparked the rally with successive triples.
Matthew Menzel worked hard inside for 17 points and 11 rebounds to get the Bulldogs going and scored an outstanding 13 of 14 free throws in the game.
Jaxon Campbell defeated the Tigers on a nearly break layup by contact and conceded the 3-point game to bring West County within 52-45 with less than six minutes left.
Whited and Carter countered with crucial steals and layups for AV, which saved the result as Dement went out of the stripe late with 5 of 6.
The Tigers took eight points and seven rebounds each from Alex Reeves and Whited.
Harlow scored 12 points and Jase Campbell stormed 11 points and seven rebounds for the Bulldogs, who were 62-56 behind, when Carter Reed nailed a corner with 3 points 28 seconds from time.
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