Benton Harmony Grove turned to its defense to advance in the 3A-5 tournament and qualify for next week’s regionals.
Mitch Scoggins, Jake Scoggins and Chuck McCormick all scored 11 points and the Cardinals held Glen Rose to five points in the second half to post a 49-21 victory at Episcopal Collegiate on Wednesday.
After struggling to hold a 18-16 advantage at the half, the Cardinals (21-5) scored 19 consecutive points during the third and fourth quarters to put the contest away. Glen Rose (10-14) hit 1 of 16 second-half attempts from the floor and was guilty of 10 turnovers in the final two quarters.
“That was definitely the difference in the game, we did a lot better job with our defense in the second half,” Harmony Grove Coach Dexter Hendrix said. “We were more active. We were more alert. Our overall intensity was good. Our length and size is good and we tried to take advantage of that.”
Harmony Grove advances to today’s semifinals and will play No. 2 seed Mayflower at 5:20 p.m. The victory also allows the Cardinals to play one more game at home. Harmony Grove will host a 3A regional next week.
The Cardinals scored the game’s first seven points and led 9-4 after the first eight minutes. The Beavers, however, turned the ball over only three times in the first half and were holding their own on the boards with the Harmony Grove holding a 16-14 advantage.
Harmony Grove finish by hitting 16 of 37 from the floor while Glen Rose was 7 of 36.
Two minutes into the second half, Glen Rose senior Dillon LeQueiu - who led his team with six points and 10 rebounds - hit a shot to pull the Beavers to within 23-19. Glen Rose would not score again until midway through the fourth quarter when LeQueiu hit two free throws.
Mitch Scoggins, a senior, scored nine of his 11 points in the second half, sparking the Cardinals on their 26-2 run to end the game. Jake Scoggins, a sophomore, had 10 rebounds to go along with his 11 points. Junior guard Drake Wilks scored 10 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals for the Cardinals.
GIRLS MAYFLOWER 54, PERRYVILLE 51
Jessica Webb took a pass from L.J. Wyatt and scored with 18 seconds to play to give the Lady Eagles (16-9) the lead for good in a quarterfinal victory over the Lady Mustangs.
Perryville took the lead for the firsttime during the second half when junior Cali Lankford hit a three-pointer with 32 seconds to play. Webb responded with her two-pointer to give the Lady Eagles a 52-51 lead. The Lady Mustangs had a chance to regain the lead with 14.0 seconds to play, but sophomore Carly Gottsponer missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Lankford collected the rebound, but her put back attempt failed. Wyatt rebounded Lankford’s miss and threw an outlet pass to senior guard Tierra Lasker, who capped the scoring with her layup with :05 seconds to play.
Webb and Wyatt each finished with 14 points. Webb would also add six rebounds and three blocks. Wyatt collected seven rebounds. Junior Raegan Bartlett scored nine points and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds for Mayflower.
Lankford’s 19 points and eight rebounds led Perryville.
FOUNTAIN LAKE 50, BENTON HARMONY GROVE 42
Senior forward Deidra McCoy scored 22 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had 7 steals as the Lady Cobras (15-7) pulled away late for a victory over the Lady Cardinals (6-20).
Harmony Grove tied the game at 42-42 on Morgan Efird’s third three-pointer of the second half with 2:15 to play, but the Lady Cardinals were unable to attempt another field goal until the game’s final seconds. McCoy broke the tie with a free throw at the 2:06 mark. She also had a field goal, two more free throws, a steal and a rebound in the game’s final two minutes to help the Lady Cobras advanced to today’s semifinals against Jessieville.
Sophomore guard Bailey Womack chipped in with 11 points for Fountain Lake while seniors Rilee Bryant and Taylor Mann added eight points each.
Harmony Grove senior Katie Wright scored 19 points, grabbed 4 rebounds and 3 steals to lead her team. Efird finished with 11 points, all in the second half as they almost overcame a 39-29 deficit to start the final quarter.
Sports, Pages 19 on 02/20/2014