Patton, Bergman pop Drew Central

LAMAR — The third quarter was coming to an end, but it didn’t do so before Bergman senior guard Walker Patton capped it with a long three-pointer.

Patton, who made six three-pointers, finished with a game-high 26 points. His effort helped guide Bergman to a 6645 victory against Drew Central in a first-round matchup at the Class 3A state tournament.

“The clock was going down and I had some space, so I just pulled that thing,” Patton said of his late third-quarter shot. “I hit the first one on the night, and I thought to myself I just need to keep shooting it. That was my mindset to keep pulling it when I got the ball.”

Patton finished off the third quarter with back-toback three- pointers. Then Bergman’s Dylan Friend made back-to-back outside shots to start the fourth quarter. Those 12 points gave the Panthers a 50-34 lead, and they didn’t look back from there.

“We got some shooters on this team,” Patton said. “When they get open, I have full confidence they are going to make it. They have it in me as well, and that’s what we did tonight.”

The three-point shooting success helped break open an otherwise close game in the first half and most of the third quarter. Bergman (36-5) held just an 11-9 lead after the opening quarter and a 28-20 edge into halftime.

Drew Central, with three consecutive three-pointers in the third quarter, cut Bergman’s lead to 30-29, but that’s when the Panthers answered with their own hot shooting.

“You have to give Coach [CJ] Watson a ton of credit because they are here every year and they do a good job,” Bergman Coach Bo Martin said. “We built a little bit of a lead, but they didn’t blink. We talked before the game they weren’t going to roll over in this game.”

Drew Central (21-12) was led by Tramond Miller’s gamehigh 26 points and 10 more from Tralon Miller.

Bergman’s balanced attack was guided by Patton, Kaden Ponder (13 points and 13 rebounds) and Friend (11 points).

LAKE VILLAGE 51, VALLEY SPRINGS 44

The Beavers ( 18- 20) advanced in a first-round matchup behind a balanced attack of Emmarian McAdoo (13 points), Jeremiah Watts (13) and Aqauvious Dunbar (10).

Valley Springs (24-19) was led by Kaden Horn’s team-high 13 points. Dason Hensley had 12, and Nate Helams chipped in 10.

The contest was tied 14-14 after the initial quarter before Valley Springs held a 25-22 halftime edge. After three quarters of play, it was tied again at 38-38. Lake Village then outscored the Tigers 13-6 in the deciding frame.

DUMAS 67, CENTRAL ARK. CHR. 65, OT

It took extra time on a late night, but the Class 3A runner-ups from 2022 are back in the semifinals. Dumas (29-7) advanced behind Mike Reddick’s 30 points.

The Bobcats jumped out to a 19-9 lead after the initial quarter, but CAC (25-9) rallied to trim the deficit to 2926 at halftime. CAC took a 39-38 lead into the final quarter before needing free throws from Eli Fulgham to head to overtime. Dumas outscored CAC 11-9 in overtime.