Elks rally on home court to advance
ELKINS 64, RIVERVIEW 58
ELKINS — Elkins never led in the first half and trailed by as many as nine points Thursday in the opening round of the Class 3A boys state tournament.
The Elks managed to turn things around in the second half, outscoring Riverview 3724 over the final two quarters to take a 64-58 victory in front of a large home crowd.
“I thought it was a great environment, everyone being here and the energy of the game,” said Elks guard Jaeden Newsom, who was wearing a black face mask because of a broken nose suffered last Friday in the semifinals of the region tournament.
He said there was some adjustments playing with the mask.
“There was some adversity and doubted if I would play or not because of how it broke,” Newsom said. “Being able to come out and play with the mask, it takes some getting used to.”
Newsom scored 18 points in his first game back, including a pair of three-pointers to open the fourth quarter as Elkins (28-4) pulled ahead 5446. He finished with 10 points in the fourth quarter.
Riverview, which controlled the first half and led 34-27 at halftime, twice pulled within three points in the fourth quarter.
Tucker Cunningham’s three-pointer cut Elkins’ lead to 59-56, but John Townsend answered with an offensive rebound and stickback to give the Elks a 61-56 advantage.
Tadrian Baker scored for Riverview get within 61-58, but the Raiders would not score again.
Bryce Mooneyham scored nine of his 17 points in the third quarter as Elkins outscored Riverview 21-10 to take a 48-44 lead going into the fourth.
Xavier McDowell had seven of his 11 points in the third, including a three-pointer from the corner that gave Elkins its first lead at 41-40 with 2:45 to play. Townsend added 10 points for the Elks.
“Finally we really started clicking,” Elkins Coach Jared Porter said. “I thought we got downhill in the second half, and instead of settling for jump shots, we started getting to the basket, and that was the theme that got us going.”
CAC 62, BOONEVILLE 38
The Mustangs went on a 22-9 run to end the first half and take a 15-point lead at halftime. CAC then popped the Bearcats (19-9) for a 14-4 run to open the second half and a 25-point lead.
The Mustangs (24-5) led 52-30 going into the fourth quarter.
Samuel Maddox led Central Arkansas Christian with 19 points, while Kevin Williams II had 16.
Colter Fisher led Booneville with 13 points, while Cody Sum had 12.
LAMAR 75, MCGEHEE 61
Lamar broke open a close game in the second half with a 30-16 run to defeat McGehee in the quarterfinals.
Lamar led 41-38 in the third quarter before going on its game-closing run.
Kendrick Carr led a balanced scoring effort for the Warriors with 19 points. Lane Miller had 18, Benjamin Noonan 14, Caleb Green 12 and Kade Boen 10.
Traelyn Fitch led McGehee with 26 points, while Ja’Corrian Love had 10 and Jai Hughes 9.