CLASS 4A BOYS
Jakari Livingston scored 24 points and had three dunks in the second half to power Mills past eStem 75-64. Javion Guy-King added 19 points for Mills.
MILLS 75, eSTEM 64
FARMINGTON — Jakari Livingston’s final slam dunk told fans all they needed to know about what Mills has accomplished this season.
Mills will play again for a state championship after defeating eStem 75-64 Saturday in the semifinals of the Class 4A boys state tournament at Cardinal Arena. It’ll be the second consecutive appearance for Mills, which lost 7876 to Magnolia in last year’s title game.
Mills (28-3) will face Magnolia again in the Class 4A championship game at 7:45 p.m. Friday at Bank OZK Arena in Hot Springs.
Livingston scored 24 points and had three dunks in the second half to stop a comeback attempt by eStem, which tied the game 37-37 in the third quarter. Mills pulled away again and set off a celebration by its fans, players and cheerleaders after Livingston added another dunk for the final points of the game.
“Livingston is tough, and he had some really good spurts for us,” Mills Coach Raymond Cooper said about his junior center. “He guards, he rebounds and, as you can see, he’s pretty explosive, too, with the basketball.”
Returning to Hot Springs was a season-long goal for Mills, which lost to Magnolia in the title game last year. Mills lost its first game this season to West Memphis, but the Comets steadily improved and will take a 15-game winning streak into the championship game.
Javion Guy-King added 19 points for Mills despite being saddled with four fouls. His production countered brothers JK Sanders and Jacob Sanders, who combined for 31 points for eStem.
EStem (25-14) won two of three games in the state tournament after entering as a No. 4 seed. The Mets eliminated No. 1 seed Ozark 65-48 on Thursday after beating Camden Fairview 47-42 on Wednesday. But eStem couldn’t contain Livingston and Guy-King, especially in the third quarter when Mills built a nine-point lead.
“[Guy-King] had four fouls there, and I was waiting for the right time to put him back in,” Cooper said. “He’s such a matchup problem because he can handle the basketball and rebound. We got him back in toward the end of the game, and I was just praying he didn’t pick up that fifth foul.”
MAGNOLIA 63, BROOKLAND 56, 2OT
Derrian Ford scored 36 points and the
Panthers avoided an upset to advance to the state title game after a double-overtime thriller.
Brookland (20-14) led for most of the game, grabbing a 5-0 lead and holding the advantage until late in the fourth quarter. Magnolia sophomore Adrien Walker, who did not enter the game until late in the fourth quarter, got a steal and layup to draw a foul with 18 seconds left. His free throw gave the Panthers the lead for the first time at 46-45.
Brookland’s David York was fouled with 0.6 seconds left and hit the first free throw to tie the game, but missed the second, sending it into overtime tied 46-46.
Magnolia (26-0) led 53-49 with under a minute left in the first overtime when Brookland’s Drew Thompson banked in a three-pointer from the right side and drew a foul on the shot with 27 seconds left. His free throw tied the game at 5353 with the four-point play.
Magnolia had a chance to win it at the end of the first overtime, but Colby Garland’s layup at the buzzer rimmed out.
In the second overtime, Ford took the game over. The sophomore hit back-toback driving layups for a 59-54 Magnolia lead, then his two free throws with 26 seconds left clinched the win.