Mcgehee survives in two overtimes

MCGEHEE 60, BERRYVILLE 58

PINE BLUFF — Donnie Hoppe’s clear path to the basket with less than 10 seconds left in the second overtime was exactly what Berryville Coach Brent Compton wanted to see Thursday.

“He’s made that shot all year,” Compton said. Only this time, he didn’t. Hoppe’s layup with five seconds left rolled off the rim, his putback was off the mark with two seconds remaining, and Deondrai Haynes added a final free throw to help McGehee pull out a 60-58 victory over Berryville in the first round of the Class 4A state tournament at the Pine Bluff Convention Center.

Standing in front of his bench, farther away from the play, Mcgehee Coach Jerome Pace said he knew what was coming as Hoppe dribbled off the closing seconds of the second overtime period. But Pace credited Zach Ellis, who finished with a gamehigh 28 points, and the Owls’ increased defensive pressure for the victory.

The Owls (18-7) trailed by 10 points twice in the second quarter and were down 26-21 at halftime and 39-32 heading into the fourth quarter. But Mcgehee forced Berryville (20-11) into 23 turnovers, and a 10-3 run to start the fourth quarter — capped by Ellis’ basket — tied the game at 4242 with 3:44 left.

“We decided to work on defense and stop complaining and whining about what wasn’t going right,” Pace said. “When you’ve got to make something happen, you’ve got to make something happen on defense.”

That effort was led by Ellis, who scored 21 points after halftime and whose steal led to the layup that tied the game at 42-42.

“I’m trying to grow him up,” Pace said. “It’s hard growing him up. ... But he got his head right and picked it up and made some big shots for us.”

The game was tied at 4545 at the end of regulation before Mcgehee took its first lead, 54-53, on Dontez Racy’s free throw with 37.8 seconds left in the first overtime. Berryville’s Alex Dowdle tied the game again when he made 1 of 2 free throws, and it was 54-54 heading into the second overtime.

Ellis twice gave Mcgehee a lead in the second overtime. His jumper to start the period made it 56-54, and his threepointer with 1:40 left gave the Owls a 59-58 lead. They never trailed again.

PB DOLLARWAY 50, JONESBORO WESTSIDE 49, OT

PINE BLUFF — Jonathon Liddell’s jumper from just inside the three-point line at the buzzer lifted Pine Bluff Dollarway to victory.

Lidell’s basket came after James Nortier’s two free throws with 21 seconds left gave Jonesboro Westside (20-8) a 49-48 lead.

Dollarway (24-7) forced overtime when Joshua Lidell’s three-pointer with 14 seconds left tied the game at 41-41. Devone Chapman then made a steal at half-court but couldn’t get a shot off before the end of regulation.

Joshua Lidell led Dollarway with 13 points. Lawrence Allen finished with 11 points while Jonathon Liddell scored 10.

Nortier led Westside with 15 points, while Aaron Price and Dylan Clark each scored 10.

PULASKI ACADEMY 75, OSCEOLA 58

PINE BLUFF — Dusty Hannahs scored 30 of his game-high 41 points in the middle two quarters to help Pulaski Academy pull away for an easy quarterfinal victory.

The Bruins, the No. 1 seed from the South, led 15-12 at the end of the first quarter before taking a 38-30 halftime lead as Hannahs scored 16 points in the second quarter.

Hannahs scored 14 more points in the third, on four three-pointers, to give Pulaski Academy a 59-42 lead into the fourth.

Hannahs, who has signed to play at Texas Tech, made six three-pointers for Pulaski Academy (27-1).

Hunter Henry added 16 points for the Bruins, and Brandon Brady had 13 points.

Osceola (25-10), the No. 3 seed from the East, was led by Eddie Green’s 17 points. Warrick Woodson added 12 points.

Morrilton rides freshman

PARAGOULD — Freshman Juwan Calvin scored 16 of his game-high 25 points in the first half, leading Morrilton over Little Rock Christian 59-42 Thursday in the Class 5A boys tournament at Greene County Tech High School.

Morrilton (18-11), the No. 3 seed from the 5A-west, never trailed as it knocked off the No. 2 seed from the 5A-southwest Conference. The Devil Dogs play Sylvan Hills in the second round.

Morrilton led 18- 11 after one quarter and 30-21 at the half behind Calvin, who made 6 of 11 first-half shots, including 3 of 4 from threepoint range.

The Devil Dogs made of 12 of 24 field-goal attempts (50 percent), while holding Little Rock Christian to 7 of 19 shooting (36.8 percent) in the first half.

Little Rock Christian (19-9) couldn’t close the gap in the third quarter, trailing 45-34 entering the fourth quarter. Morrilton outscored Little Rock Christian 15-7 to put away the game.

Tyrone Willis Jr. added 14 points for Morrilton.

Warren Leahpeart led the Devil Dogs with 10 rebounds to go with his six points as Morrilton outrebounded Little Rock Christian 30-22.

Cole Hendrixon led Little Rock Christian with 15 points, and Taylor Tomlinson had 10.

In other games, Ryan and Evan Lensing scored 19 points each to lead Greenwood to a 65- 50 victory over Central Arkansas Christian. Greenwood shot 47.1 percent from the floor and outscored CAC in every quarter, leading 36-23 at the half. Ethan Clark added 11 points and 8 rebounds for the Bulldogs and Drew Morgan had 9 points and 6 rebounds as Greenwood outrebounded CAC 36-24. Benjamin Shields led CAC with 14 points, while Dylan Sherrill had 13 and Joseph Holland 12. Shields also led his team with seven rebounds. ... Braylon Spicer hit a three-pointer from about 25 feet with 0.8 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime and then hit a shot with 31 seconds left in the extra period to give Mills (21-6) the lead for good in a 68-64 victory over Camden Fairview (25-4). Shaquon Fletcher hit two free throws with 8.9 seconds left to seal the victory. Shyheim Barron led Mills with 19 points. Spicer added 16 and Fletcher 15. Camden Fairview’s Dominique Reed led all scorers with 27 points, while Bobby Easter and Ethan Lee each added 10.

— Austin Emerson