Prim’s Paint Performance Punishes Mustangs
Grandview junior Gaige Prim pummeled the visiting Mullen Mustangs interior defense Friday night at Grandview High School. The 6’7 power forward dominated the glass and scored nearly every time he caught the ball in the post. The Wolves used Prims output combined with solid guard play from juniors Max Boyd and Lechaun Duhart to keep the Mustangs corralled most of the night.
The first half was a barn burner. As both teams shot the ball very well and combined to score 72 points in the half.
It was the hot shooting that kept Mullen in the game in the first half. The Mustangs made six three pointers, two from junior Matteo Busnardo and two came from senior Nate Davis. Grandview’s defense limited the Mustangs dribble penetration and forced them to shoot contested jump shots for the most part but Mullen hit them. Busnardo’s 3 pointer at the buzzer gave Mullen an 18-16 lead at the end of the 1st quarter.
Grandview meanwhile was able to dominate inside the three point line on both ends of the floor. The Wolves ran most of their offense through Prim and rarely took a forced shot. Duhart ran the offense well and controlled the pace of the game despite not scoring very much the first half acting more as a facilitator. Boyd scored nine points in the first half including this four point play at the end of the 2nd quarter to give Grandview a 40-32 lead at halftime.
Sophomore Gunner Gentry and Prim combined to score all 15 of the Wolves points in the third quarter. Gentry attacked from the wing making layups while Prim caught the ball on the block and scored as he liked also picking up a number of and 1 calls along the way that would stifle the Mustang comeback.
Free throws were huge in the second half for the Wolves as they made 15 of 19 from the charity stripe. The free throws extended the Wolves lead and prevented the Mustangs from making any kind of real charge to retake the lead. Duhart was excellent in the fourth quarter. The Wolves needed Duhart to dominate the ball as he was able to easily handle the Mustang defensive pressure to score nine points in the quarter and made big free throws grow and maintain the lead.
The 75-57 win for Grandview puts the Wolves currently in fourth place in the Centennial League with games against Eaglecrest and Overland to finish the season.
Double Digit Scorers
Grandview
Prim 23
Gentry 10
Duhart 15
Mullen
Nate Davis 11
Busnardo 19
Andre Thompson 11
