Marshall shoots down Lavaca

CLASS 2A MARSHALL 84, LAVACA 55

MANSFIELD — When his team’s standout shooters gets going, Marshall Coach Donnie Smith just sits back and watches the show. Friday night was one of those instances.

Marshall shot 55% from the field in the first half to build a big lead and rolled to an 84-55 victory against Lavaca in a quarterfinals matchup at the Class 2A boys state tournament.

“We have some shooters,” Smith said. “When they get hot and get going, you have to get out there on them to stop them. I wish we were like this all the time. But when they get going, they can knock them down. I’m so proud of them.”

Senior guard Cole Harness got the offense going for the No. 3 seed Bobcats against the No. 1 seed Golden Arrows. He had 12 points in the first quarter and 10 more in the second quarter, which allowed Marshall to take a 47-26 lead into halftime.

“I like to consider myself a spot-up shooter,” said Harness, who finished with 26 points. “I think the guys were looking for me because I was hitting them. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. I’m glad they found me and I was knocking them down. A lot of the credit goes to them.”

Harness also had a teamhigh 8 rebounds to go with 3 steals and 3 assists.

Senior guard Payton DePriest had a game-high 27 points to go with 7 rebounds and 5 assists for Marshall.

“He is a workhorse and does it all,” Smith said of DePriest. “He gets out there, scores and gets after it on defense. He passes the ball very well. He is an asset and both of those guys [Harness and DePriest] are seniors, so I will miss them. But hopefully we got two more games in us.”

Marshall jumped out to a 21-13 lead and used a 13-2 run to open the second quarter to make it a 37-15 lead. The Bobcats were ahead 47-26 at the break and 63-41 heading into the final quarter.

Lavaca (24-10) was led by 24 points from Andrew Johnson. Hudson Noel added 13 points and nine rebounds.

BIGELOW 66, FORDYCE 59

The defending Class 2A state champion advanced to the semifinals behind a tournament-high 38 points from Bennett Wilson and 13 points from Brandt Tipton.

Bigelow (26-2) led 19-7 after the first quarter and 32-20 at halftime with Martell Macon beating the buzzer with a basket.

The Redbugs had the deficit down to 59-52 with 1:04 left but could get no closer. Fordyce (20-11) was led by Antuwan Williams’ 16 points and Carmelo Allen’s 14 points.

CUTTER-MORNING STAR 56, MURFREESBORO 47

No. 2 seed Cutter-Morning Star dropped No. 1 seed Murfreesboro to advance to the semifinals.

The Eagles were led by Davis, Jalen Carter and Garner Thornton, who each aded 14 points.

Murfreesboro (23-8) had Caden Dixon finish with 16 points, James Silvia score 13 points and Kade Caldwell add 11 points

Cutter-Morning Star (29-6) led 29-18 at halftime, but Murfreesboro cut the margin to 39-34 after three quarters.