Panthers, Golden Arrows set for 2A showdown
One thing is certain — the Class 2A boys basketball championship will be awarded to a school that has not claimed it in the past.
Magnet Cove (28-8) and Lavaca (35-2) will take to the court tonight at 7:45 p.m. to decide on which team will take home its first state basketball championship. The Golden Arrows will be the home team for the nightcap of the second day of state basketball finals at Bank OZK Arena.
The Panthers and Golden Arrows met last year in the first round of the Class 2A state tournament, Lavaca winning 40-30.
The Golden Arrows were ranked as the top team in Class 2A in the last Arkansas State Media Boys Basketball Poll on Feb. 21, having held the top spot in the poll all season. Magnet Cove was never ranked in the poll, but Lavaca and the Panthers were ranked Nos. 3 and 4 in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette’s preaseason Super 6 in November.
Led by former Poyen standout Matt Williamson, the Panthers have had to battle all season, going on an 11-1 run after their Jan. 4 loss to Dierks. They ended the regular season with a 58-51 loss at Cutter Morning Star.
No stranger to the bright lights of the state championship game, Williamson hit the game-winning 3-pointer in the 2002 Class 2A state championship game to give Poyen its only state boys basketball title.
The Panthers entered the 2A-South Regional as the No. 2 seed after a 57-35 loss to Dierks in the 2A-7 District Tournament on Feb. 18 and took a 69-63 win over Fordyce in the opening round. They fell in a 61-60 heartbreaker in the regional semifinal before claiming the No. 3 seed going into the Class 2A state touranament with a 67-58 win over the Eagles in the third-place game.
Magnet Cove then went on to clear the bottom half of the Class 2A state tournament bracket by a total margin of just 11 points. After a 70-68 win over Maumelle Charter in the first round, the Panthers downed Eureka Springs 58-50, and they knocked off defending state champion Marianna Lee 54-53 Monday night to set up tonight’s contest.
The Golden Arrows compiled a 28-game winning streak before losing to Eureka Springs in the 2A-West Regional. Lavaca cruised to a 72-35 win over Alpena in the first round before a 54-37 win over Cotter in the regional semifinal.
Lavaca then rolled Earle 66-33 in the first round of the Class 2A state tournament and defeated Dierks 45-31. The Golden Arrows then took a 53-41 win over Acorn in their semifinal game Monday afternoon.
The Golden Arrows sport plenty of leadership behind their three seniors — Drake Grantham, Luke Watson and Avery Walker, but they also have eight juniors. The Panthers have just one senior in 6-3 guard Evin Ashcraft, but with four juniors and nine sophomores, the team is likely primed for another title run in 2023.