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Curley Wolves Make Clean Sweep At Fouke For District Tourney

BY JOHN MILLER
Published Wednesday, February 24, 1999 in the Nevada County Picayune

Taking two out of three games from a team the caliber of Fordyce in a year is good.

But, when the third game is in the finals of the district tournament, the victory is even sweeter.

This is exactly what Prescott's Curley Wolves did Saturday night at Fouke to make it a clean sweep for the local basketball crews.

The final score was 61-55, but the game kept fans on the collective edges of their seats - on both sides.

The Red Bugs took the opening tip, got fouled and missed a pair of free throws.

Scoring was seldom seen early on as neither team shot well from the field or line.

Prescott was able to take a 4-0 lead with 5:22 left in the period, as the two teams raced up and down the hardwood.

Mistakes and turnovers kept either bunch from doing much offensively, while the Wolves were called heavily for fouls in the first eight minutes.

With 1:57 left the 'Bugs were in the bonus. On the other hand, Prescott held a 9-4 lead.

Period one came to a close with the Wolves holding a 13-7 advantage.

Fordyce picked up its pace in the second eight minutes, adding 17 points to its total, while the Wolves played consistently on offense.

Both squads made sure no wimps survived in the paint, as play under the basket was brutal. In fact, it was more physical than was necessary and seemed as though the teams were more interested in punishing one another instead of playing ball.

Fordyce tightened its defense in an effort to keep Prescott from scoring easily. Still, the pace of the game was quick as the two crews hustled after everything.

The Wolves were in the bonus with 2:42 left in the half, while a few seconds later, the 'Bugs were in the double bonus. However, neither team had anything to brag about from the line. Prescott finished by hitting 11 of 25 free throws, while Fordyce was a woeful nine of 22.

Period three saw the Wolves get off to a bad start and get hit with two quick fouls. They also lost the lead when the 'Bugs nailed their first shot to go up 26-25.

But, Prescott returned the favor by going downcourt and scoring to go up 27-26.

The third quarter saw the teams go back and forth with the lead. This drew screams from both groups of fans, who definitely got their money's worth.

The Wolves managed to pull away at 31-26 with 5:23 left, and saw one of the 'Bugs warned for spiking the ball. The official made sure the player knew he would get a technical foul should this behavior occur again.

For the rest of the period, though, Prescott was outscored 13-6 as the 'Bugs took a 39-37 lead at the end of the third.

This didn't set well with the Wolves as they roared back in the final period. After swapping the lead a couple of times, Prescott's five took control of the contest and put the game out of reach.

With 4:31 showing, Prescott was up 47-41. They kept Fordyce at bay by maintaining the distance with 3:09 left and the score 51-44.

The 'Bugs were in the bonus and forced to foul and put the Wolves at the line. Full court pressure by Fordyce failed to rattle the Prescott quintet on the floor as they exterminated the 'Bugs for the hardware.

Brandon Wilson led Prescott's offense with 20 points, while Matt Brannon added 11.

Fordyce was led by Brandon Jones, who scored 16, and Kuston Belin with 12.


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