POTTSVILLE -- Teams sometimes head into regional basketball tournament with little information on their opponent because they rarely meet.
Huntsville's boys, however, were very familiar with Wednesday's first-round opponent and knew what it would take to beat Ozark.
Class 4A North Region Tournament
Boys
Huntsville 62, Ozark 38
Ozark^5^10^13^10^—^38
Huntsville^20^11^19^12^—^62
Ozark (10-14): Cowens 12, Wells 8, Wilbanks 6, Yell 5, Bowman 5, Nagel 2.
Huntsville (29-2): Kirk 15, Eaton 15, Aguilar 12, Cain 6, Gosvener 6, Garrett 5, Miller 3.
Arkansas Baptist 52, Lincoln 39
Lincoln^8^10^8^13^—^39
Arkansas Baptist^10^13^13^16^—52
Lincoln (14-15): Goldman 18, Castaneda 9, Barnum 6, McCaslin 3, Means 3.
Arkansas Baptist: C. Vanover 22, B. Vanover 10, Ch. McGonigal 10, Co. McGonigal 5, Hogan 3, Kauffmann 2.
Class 4A North Region Tournament
at Pottsville
Boys
Wednesday’s Scores
Game 1: 1st-1 Huntsville 62, 4th-4 Ozark 38
Game 2: 1st-4 Arkansas Baptist 52, 4th-1 Lincoln 39
Today’s Games
Game 3: 2nd-4 Subiaco Academy vs. 3rd-1 Prairie Grove, 5:30 p.m.
Game 4: 2nd-1 Pea Ridge vs. 3rd-4 Dardanelle, 8:30 p.m.
Friday’s Games
Game 5: Huntsville vs. Game 3 winner, 5:30 p.m.
Game 6: Arkansas Baptist vs. Game 4 winner, 8:30 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
Game 7: Third-place game, 1:30 p.m.
Game 8: Championship, 7:30 p.m.
The Eagles jumped out to an early 17-2 lead and never let the Hillbillies back into the contest en route to a 62-38 first-round victory during the Class 4A North Region Tournament in George S. Jones Gymnasium.
"We were ready to play, and that's the third time we've played Ozark this year," Huntsville coach Jim Stafford said. "We've always played them because they're an hour down the road. It's a good nonconference game for us for a long time.
"We knew quite a bit about them, and they know quite a bit about us. Our kids rose to the occasion. We knocked down some shots, and when you knock down shots, some other good things happen."
Five different players scored during Huntsville's early run, and Jack Eaton capped it with his first bucket with 1 minute, 35 seconds left in the first quarter. The Eagles (29-2) ended the first quarter with a 20-5 cushion and never allowed Ozark (10-14) to get any closer than 11 points throughout the game.
The Hillbillies scored seven straight points early in the second half and pulled within 33-22 with 6:18 left in the third quarter before Huntsville had seen enough. The Eagles ran off nine straight points and extended their lead to 42-22 on a Christian Cain 3-pointer, then led by as much as 25 points in the fourth quarter.
"Usually when we've struggled the most, we've played a team with a real good post," Ozark coach Brad Johnson said. "They're so guard-orientated, it's just pick your poison. If you try to stop them inside, they hit outside, and if you try to stop them outside, they hit you inside."
Eaton and Caleb Kirk each scored 15 points to lead Huntsville, which plays again at 5:30 p.m. Friday and qualifies for next week's Class 4A state tournament in Ozark, while Jose Aguilar added 12. Dakota Cowens led Ozark with 12.
Arkansas Baptist 52, Lincoln 39
Arkansas Baptist started the second half with 11 unanswered points and pulled away from Lincoln.
Lincoln (14-15) doomed itself with turnovers and didn't score in the second half until Shandon "Biggie" Goldman hit a putback with 3:35 remaining in the third quarter. By that time, Arkansas Baptist had already turned its five-point halftime cushion into a comfortable 34-18 lead.
Goldman had 18 points and was the only Lincoln player in double figures. Conner Vanover, a 7-foot-2 freshman, had 12 of his game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter for Arkansas Baptist, while Brandon Vanover and Chad McGonigal each added 10.
Henry Apple can be reached by email at happle@nwadg.com or on Twitter @NWAHenry
Sports on 02/26/2015