Bergman wins, gets another shot at title

CLASS 3A BERGMAN 72, LAMAR 66

ELKINS — Bergman’s boys are getting another chance at a Class 3A state championship.

Dylan Friend scored a game-high 28 points as the Panthers defeated Lamar 7266 in a Class 3A semifinal Saturday afternoon at Elks Arena.

It will be the second straight title game appearance for Bergman (33-10) after suffering a 61-57 overtime loss to Manila in the state final a year ago.

“All the credit in the world to my kids,” Bergman Coach Bo Martin said. “We’ve got to figure out a way to quit creating our own adversity. To their credit, instead of letting it snowball on us when we make mistakes, they’ve been able to take a deep breath and get a stop, that type of thing. Very proud of them.”

The Panthers led from start to finish Saturday, taking a 1612 lead after the first quarter and a 33-25 advantage at halftime after leading by as many as 12 points in the first half.

Bergman pushed ahead by 16 late in the third quarter after a three-point play by Friend and led 52-39 going into the fourth quarter.

Lamar (24-9) cut the lead to 65-61 with 1:08 left but could get no closer.

Sawyer Schubert, a 6-7 post, made his presence felt with 18 points and nine rebounds. Bergman’s only two seniors, Bryson Bauer and Kaden Ponder, chipped in 13 and 9 points, respectively.

Lane Miller led Lamar with 23 points, while Caleb Green had 17 and Kaz Crotts 12.

CENT. ARK. CHRISTIAN 50, DUMAS 48

Grayson Wilson scored off a Samuel Maddox feed with less than 5 seconds remaining to give the Mustangs (26-5) a victory over the Bobcats (30-5).

With the game tied 48-48, Maddox launched a runner in the lane that was short, but came up with the rebound and passed to Wilson for the score.

Dumas’ half-court heave at the buzzer hit the front of the rim but didn’t fall in.

CAC led 44-37 early in the fourth after a pair of three-pointers from Lane Baxter and Maddox, but Dumas tied it at 48-48 after an 11-0 run, highlighted by a pair of buckets by Tommy Reddick and Spratt.

Spratt finished with a game-high 24 points. Maddox led CAC with 19, while Joseph Beranek had 10.