The Prairie Falcons kept answering Skyview’s call as the Falcons beat the Storm 64-60 on Thursday, Dec. 11.
The Falcons experienced a flat first quarter after just 12 points on the board. Thankfully, the Prairie defense held its ground, giving up just 17 points. At the half, the Falcons found themselves ahead 30-28.
A 20-point third quarter brought the score 50-44 as the Storm were hanging on. But the Falcons weathered it out with poise for their win.
Leading the Falcons in a calm, cool and collected manner was junior floor general Malachi Patton with 25 points on the night. Patton’s final point put the game on ice from the free throw line with a four-point lead.
“It felt great. I’m not gonna lie,” Patton said of his free throw dagger. “I felt it. I knew I was going to make those two free throws. I made two previously before. I missed a couple earlier in the game, but I knew I had to give my team that victory.”
When Patton gets his scoring going like he did against the Storm, it usually comes from finding spots to keep the beautiful art of the midrange game alive in basketball. In order to master the craft, Patton focuses his time on midrange shots the second he steps foot into a gym.
“I get a lot of reps in from midrange. You usually see a lot of young kids, they get in the gym, they just want to shoot three-pointers,” Patton said. “I start off with probably an hour of midrange before I even step to my three-pointer part of workouts.”
Patton’s efforts go beyond leading the offense and perfecting an elbow and baseline jump shot. He also pressures ball handlers with tenacious defense.
“It feels great to be an all-around player,” he said. “A lot of players are one dimensional, and I’ve always taken pride in being a two-way player; playing offense, defense, you know, doing whatever on the court.”
After the win over the Storm, the Falcons have a strange potential at hand. The 3A Greater St. Helens League Prairie Falcons did lose to Arlington High School up the Interstate 5 corridor earlier in the fresh season, but their three wins so far have come by way of 4A Greater St. Helens League opponents. The Falcons will give a go at a sweep over the 4A teams of Southwest Washington as they host University of Iowa commit Ethan Harris and the Camas Papermakers on Thursday, Dec. 18.
“Literally, yesterday in practice, assistant coach Cody Barton, he was talking about how we want to run through the whole GSHL 4A first before we get to league,” Patton said. “And it’s a good feeling and good W against Skyview. … It builds really good confidence because Skyview is a really good team. They’ve been a really good team for many years. They have a lot of talented players, so I feel like playing them is going to get us prepared for our 3A league.”
