Mets Knock Down Hillbillies

FARMINGTON — North No. 1 seed Ozark jumped out to an early 8-2 lead but the game soon got away and the Hillbillies lost 65-48 to eStem.

Ozark breezed through the 4A North Regional, winning all three games at Berryville’s Bobcat Arena the previous week, but the Hillbillies didn’t fare well at the Class 4A State basketball tournament Thursday, March 5, at Farmington’s Cardinal Arena when they ran into eStem. The Mets featured balanced scoring with seven players scoring at least 5 points. Brothers, J.K. (15) and Jacob Sanders (12) combined for 27 points and they got plenty of support from Jaylon Smith with 11 points and Dylan Sewell with 10 points.

The Mets started slowly, scoring 8 points in the first quarter, but quickly adapted to the state tournament environment and put 57 points on the scoreboard over the remaining three periods. Five different Mets scored in the second led by Sewell with a pair of 3-pointers and

Keith Martin, who also made a trey and had 5 points in the quarter.

Almost half the Mets’ 14 third-quarter points came on a 6-for-6 team performance at the free-throw line.

The fourth quarter showcased an offensive display by both teams. Ozark scored as many points in the period as they did the first three quarters. The Hillbillies made half their 24 points from beyond the 3-point arc. Senior Ethan Dorrough, a 6-0 guard, made a pair of treys with Jaxson Harris and Corbin Pelts, who led Ozark with 12 points, also casting off and draining trifectas.

In contrast the Mets also erupted for 24 points without making any threes with J.K. Sanders and Smith each producing 7 points in the fourth.

Keystan Durning scored 11 points for Ozark with Dorrough getting 9 and Garrett Schaffer adding 7.