Drew Central tops Rivercrest

OSCEOLA — Drew Central nearly had its plan for a return trip to the Class 3A state title game derailed Tuesday against Rivercrest, but the Pirates had just enough to keep their quest alive.

Junior guard Travarus Shead scored 19 of his gamehigh 24 points after halftime as Drew Central overcame a fourth-quarter deficit to beat Rivercrest 73-65 in overtime in the first round of the Class 3A boys state tournament at Seminole Arena.

Shead also had 11 rebounds and 4 steals, while senior guard Nicky Barnard scored 18 points for top-seeded Drew Central (27-6), which lost to district rival McGehee in the final last season. Junior forward Trenton Eubanks tallied 11 points and 8 rebounds, and senior guard Zeb Trantham had 10 points.

Senior forward Demilon Brown and junior guard Shamar Jones both had 20 points for Rivercrest (20-15), which couldn’t put the game away after holding a 51-42 lead with just over six minutes left.

“We never quit,” Drew Central Coach C.J. Watson said. “The guys are winners, and they’ve been through the wars. We told them at the start of the fourth quarter that we were going to win the game, but we just had to believe.”

Free throws were a sore spot for Rivercrest, which went 8 of 18 from the foul line in the fourth quarter and overtime. Drew Central was 14 of 17 during that same stretch.

Both teams started fast, combining to shoot 11 of 17 in the first quarter. The Pirates led 25-24 at halftime, but the Colts began to pick up some steam in the third behind Jones. He scored 12 points in the period, including five in a row during Rivercrest’s 9-2, quarter-ending run that gave the Colts a 47-38 lead.

Rivercrest led 51-42 with 6:15 left before a four-point play from Shead ignited a Pirates’ rally. The Colts answered on the other end, but Drew Central ran off eight points in a row and took a 54-53 lead on Eubanks’ driving layup with 3:30 remaining. The lead changed hands three times before Brown’s free throws with 26.2 seconds showing subsequently sent the game into overtime.

Brown’s bucket to start the extra session put the Colts out front 60-58, but another Shead jumper started a 12-3 spurt that put the Pirates ahead to stay.

“Surviving and advancing,” Watson said. “We were able to get it done, and now it’s on to the next one.”

HARDING ACADEMY 64, MCGEHEE 62, OT

Senior forward David Morgan scored 13 points, including the game-winner with 5.5 seconds left in overtime, to send Harding Academy (25-5) past the defending state champions.

Grant Patterson, also a senior, finished with 31 points for the Wildcats, who trailed 50-42 at the start of the fourth quarter.

Sophomore guard David Moore, who sent the game into overtime with a short jumper at the end of regulation, had 21 points for McGehee (12-14). Senior guard Daryl Polite had 15 points while senior forward DeWayne Railey ended with 13 points and 10 rebounds.