Berryville finds its shot in the middle

BERRYVILLE 53, SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE 33

MORRILTON — Berryville’s mid-game shooting provided the Bobcats with what they needed Tuesday.

Senior guard Landon Chester buried six three-pointers to lead Berryville to a 53-33 victory over Southside Batesville in the opening round of the Class 4A boys state tournament at Devil Dog Arena.

Chester finished with a game-high 20 points, and senior forward J.D. Smith had 12 points and 8 rebounds for the Bobcats, who were ice cold from the field in the first and fourth quarters but were red hot during the middle periods.

Berryville (22-6) was 10of-16 (62.5%) shooting in the second and third quarters, enabling the Bobcats to establish a big lead. Southside Batesville (18-8) was just 4 of 18 (22%) during that same stretch.

“I thought there were some nerves coming out for both teams,” said Berryville Coach Brent Compton, whose team hit only 4 of 19 (21%) shots in the first and fourth quarters. “The kids were playing hard on both sides. For us, we were really concerned because [Southside Batesville runs] so many sets and have really good action with their constant movement.

“But our guys really focused during our walkthroughs, and I thought they did a nice job, on both sides of the floor, after we kind of settled in.”

Senior guard Devan Halford scored 16 points for Southside Batesville, which at one point missed six shots in a row in the second quarter. The Southerners didn’t make their first basket of the period until Halford hit a 14-foot jumper with 2:46 to go before halftime.

Berryville ran off the first 10 points of the period and held a 23-14 lead at the half. The Bobcats continued their hot streak after halftime, but the Southerners did mount a brief comeback midway through.

A three-pointer from senior guard Blayne Bufford with 4:11 to go in the third quarter started an 8-0 run to cut a 17-point Berryville lead down to 31-22.

But Chester drained a pair of three-pointers during an 8-2 rally over the final two minutes of the quarter to push the Bobcats’ margin back to double digits.

“We were pretty well prepared for this one, and our kids were ready to go,” Compton said. “The guys are so excited. We know we’ve got a tall task ahead of us [Thursday against Magnolia]. We’re going to enjoy this one, and then do the best we can moving forward.”

MONTICELLO 52, BROOKLAND 42, OT

Monticello (16-6) knocked down 16 of 19 free throws in overtime to pull away.

K.J. Burks had 21 points and Nick Smith added 17 points for the Billies, who didn’t make their first shot of the game until the 4:34 mark of the second quarter. But Monticello created a host of turnovers throughout and played the game at a fast pace to get the victory.

Jackson Parnell scored nine points and Keean Strode had eight points for Brookland (17-9).