Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
LOCAL SPORTS ROUNDUP
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES BOYS
OZARK CATHOLIC 62, FOUNDERS CLASSICAL 38 Shep Newcomb scored 24 points and Ozark Catholic reached the halfway point of 1A-1 West Conference play unbeaten with a victory over Founders. The Griffins (22-5, 7-0) pulled away in the second quarter with a 17-6 run and turned a seven-point lead into a 32-14 halftime margin. John Paul Schaefer added 11 points for Ozark Catholic, while Ayden Borrow had 15 points for Founders (5-11, 2-5).
GIRLS
VALLEY SPRINGS 73, ELKINS 53 Laramie Watkins connected on eight three-point shots and finished with 28 points as Valley Springs rolled to a 3A-1 Conference makeup victory at home over Valley Springs. The Lady Tigers (15-7, 4-0) outscored the Lady Elks 23-15 in the second quarter and turned a two-point deficit into a 3428 halftime lead, then pulled away with a 26-14 outburst in the third quarter. Macy Willis added 20 points and Tayla Trammell 13 for Valley Springs, which is scheduled to host Bergman in a battle of league unbeatens Friday. Taylar Brannon led Elkins (12-6, 2-2) with 19 points, followed by Emma Holland with 12 and Lakyn Shoftner with 10.
GREENLAND 37, LIFE WAY CHRISTIAN 13 Greenland held Life Way Christian scoreless for the entire first half and went on to take a 2A-1 Conference win in a makeup game at home. Emma Vaughan had 11 points and Layla Daniel Jones 10 for the Lady Pirates (8-8, 3-1), who led 5-0 after one quarter and 9-0 at halftime before outscoring the Lady Warriors 16-5 in the third quarter.
TUESDAY’S LATE GAMES BOYS VAN BUREN 68, GREENWOOD 45
Van Buren seized momentum in the final minute of the third quarter for a 68-45 win over the Bulldogs at H.B. Stewart Arena on Tuesday night in the 5A-West. Weston Wilcox sparked a 13-5 run to end the third quarter with a steal and a slam with 55 seconds left, and Trenton Cooley banked in an 80-foot heave at the buzzer for a 49-34 lead.
“That didn’t hurt, it was a pretty solid shot, just like we drew it up,” Van Buren Coach Brad Autry said. “We wanted him to heave it up three-quarter court. Those are two things you don’t see happen in Van Buren basketball very often; a dunk and an 80-footer in the same quarter. The second half, our guys got a little rhythm to them and found some gaps and got some things done.”
After Greenwood opened the fourth quarter with consecutive baskets by L.J. Robins and Brenden Chick, Van Buren went on an 8-0 run. Jaxon Cazzell hit two free throws and added a driving basket, and Drew Brasuell scored consecutive baskets with a layup following a steal and a driving basket for a 57-38 cushion with 4:50 to play.
“We got it down to 33-27 in the third quarter, we are getting better,” Greenwood Coach B.J. Ross said. “The full-court shot sort of daggered us. We had some momentum.”
Brasuell led Van Buren with 23 points, Cazzell added 11 points and Cooley contributed 10 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. Greenwood (1-8, 0-2) was led by Peyton Presson with 10 points. Braden Bollman scored eight points and had 11 rebounds. — Leland Barclay
ALMA 60, SILOAM SPRINGS 49 For the first time in six seasons, the Airedales are off to a 2-0 start in conference play. It last happened 1,827 days ago for Alma. Alma jumped out to an early 14-5 lead after the opening quarter with its strong defense. The Airedales made it a 31-20 lead at halftime, but Siloam Springs found success in the second half. The Panthers (610, 0-2 5A-West) were down just 44-38 entering the fourth quarter and cut it to just 47-45 down the stretch. Alma (9-8, 2-0) closed out strong after that to pick up the victory, using a 13-4 scoring run after that. Israel Towns-Robinson (18 points), Easton Boggs (17 points) and Miles Kendrick (11 points) had big nights for the Airedales. Siloam Springs’ come-from-behind attempt was aided by 16 points from Nathan Hawbaker and 13 points from Evan Allen.
MOUNTAIN HOME 65, HARRISON 57 Mountain Home outscored Harrison 24-12 in the fourth quarter to come from behind and defeat the Goblins in a 5A-West Conference game at Mountain Home. Ryder Scrivner had 28 points to lead Harrison, followed by Hayden Martin with 13 and Cole Cecil with 12. Rhett Gilbert led Mountain Home with 17 points, while McGee Harris had 16 and Blaine Tate 11.
PEA RIDGE 55, PRAIRIE GROVE 44 Skye Davenport had 28 points to lead Pea Ridge to a 4A-1 Conference victory at Prairie Grove. Ben Wheeler added 17 for the visiting Blackhawks (17-3, 4-1), who led 22-18 at halftime and pulled away to a 41-31 lead after three quarters, while Cole McGarrah was the only player in double figures for Prairie Grove (6-11, 1-4) with 17 points. HUNTSVILLE 60, GENTRY 49 Kobe Ogden had 25 points as Huntsville earned a 4A-1 Conference victory at home over Gentry. Kayden McCubbin added 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Eagles (14-7, 3-2), who led 27-20 at halftime and 41-33 after three quarters, while Justin Jatios chipped in 13 points.
FAYETTEVILLE CHRISTIAN 69, FORT SMITH PATRIOTS 38 Fayetteville Christian outscored the Patriots 43-13 in the second half to pull away. Parker Hedman had 23 points to lead four players in double figures for the Eagles (16-1), who went on a 20-8 run in the third quarter and turned a two-point halftime lead into a 4633 cushion. Joseph Gonzales was next with 14, followed by Jaheem Campbell with 12 and Alex Pagliani with 10.
GIRLS
GREENWOOD 65, VAN BUREN 34 The Lady Bulldogs scored the first 14 points over the opening five minutes and rolled to the win. Greenwood (13-3, 2-0) was led by Anna Trusty, who scored 27 points and moved past Mady Cartwright into fourth place in the all-time scoring list for the Lady Bulldogs. Brookley Woolsey added 15 points, all on three-pointers, and Kylah Pearcy scored 10 points. Van Buren (13-5, 1-1) was led by Sophie Goerig, who scored 10 points off the bench. Greenwood led 20-8 after a quarter, sparked by three treys by Woolsey, and 39-17 at the half. Trusty scored all 13 of Greenwood’s points in the third quarter as the Lady Bulldogs opened up a 52-28 advantage.
MOUNTAIN HOME 48, HARRISON 26 Harrison went scoreless for the entire first quarter and didn’t have a field goal in the first half in its 5A-West Conference loss at Mountain Home. Eliza Barger and Lila Jones had six points apiece for the Lady Goblins, who trailed 8-0 after one quarter and 23-4 at halftime. Anna McCarn led Mountain Home with 14 points, while Jayla Yonkers had 12 and Laykin Moore nine.
PEA RIDGE 57, PRAIRIE GROVE 49 Leah Telgemeier had 21 points to lead Pea Ridge to a 4A-1 Conference victory at Prairie Grove. Gracie Davenport added 13 points for the Lady Blackhawks (12-8, 3-2), who led 28-25 at halftime and 38-33 after three quarters, while Makena Ward almost had a double-double with 9 points and 10 rebounds. Lexi Henry had 18 points for Prairie Grove (12-5, 2-3), followed by KK Dreves with 16.