BRANCH -- The fear of any lack of rhythm from not playing in a while was quickly put to rest for The New School coach David Ferrell on Thursday night at County Line Gym.
The Cougars got off to a hot start and never cooled off to pull away with an 80-38 victory against St. Paul in a first-round matchup at the Class 1A Region 1 tournament.
"It was good to see us hit some shots early because we have been off since Saturday," Ferrell said. "It was a long week. We were worried we might be a little rusty. But we came out hot and hit some shots."
The New School was able to make six first-quarter 3-pointers to take a 26-15 lead heading into the second quarter. The Cougars ended the initial quarter with a near half-court shot made by Chase Ammons.
The New School was able to keep the momentum going in the second quarter, pushing its lead out to 47-28 at halftime.
"We had talked about our only chance was with them only having eight players was to get them in foul trouble and hope they missed shots," St. Paul coach David Dunlap said. "It was the complete opposite of that. They hit some shots, and we got in foul trouble."
The New School was able to make 52 percent of its shots (14 of 27) in the first half to help build the big lead and secure a state tournament berth in the program's first year.
"This is unbelievable really," Ferrell said. "We don't have a senior class, and we are really small with just eight kids. If you told me we were going to win 27 games and go to the state tournament in the first year, I'd sign up for that."
Arthur Cox led New School with a game-high 23 points. Ammons added 17 points, while Jan Sturner had 15. Ayden Barbour and Tysen Barbour each chipped in 11.
St. Paul was led by Wade Swafford scoring a team-high 16 points, while Kris Watts added 10.
The New School put up its third consecutive quarter of scoring 20 or more points in the third, finishing with 25. That allowed the Cougars to push their lead out to 72-36 heading into the final quarter.
"I'm proud of them playing well in the playoffs," Ferrell said. "We played some bigger schools this year to test ourselves. I didn't think we'd be nervous. But I didn't think we'd run the clock on them either."
St. Paul 15 13 8 2 -- 38
New School 26 21 25 8 -- 80
St. Paul (16-12): Swafford 16, Watts 10, Stark 8, McKenney 2, Burnett 1, Haire 1.
New School (27-7): Cox 23, Ammons 17, Sturner 15, A. Barbour 11, T. Barbour 11, Husnian 3.
Deer 79, Future School 64
Deer was able to punch its ticket to a state tournament appearance behind a strong performance from Caden Young, who finished with a game-high 36 points.
Deer (27-9) held just a 19-14 lead after the first quarter but was able to make that a 42-29 halftime lead Young helped set the tone early in the game scoring 22 in first half.
Future School (12-13) was able to cut into that lead to be down 56-45 heading into the fourth quarter. They even cut the edge to just eight points early in the fourth quarter. But Deer was able to finish strong after that to pull away.
Future School was led by Jashon Smith scoring a team-high 24 points, while Nicholas Fantauzzi was right behind him with 21. Jeremiah Tabut chipped in 11 as well for the Rockets.
Johnny Smith chipped in 16 points for Deer to help keep the offense balanced.
Deer 19 23 14 23 -- 79
Future School 14 15 16 19 -- 64
Deer (27-9): C. Young 36, J. Smith 16, D. Smith 11, A. Young 8, Brothers 4, Dotson 4.
Future School (12-13): Smith 24, Fantauzzi 21, Tabut 11, Hubbard 4, McCullough 4.
Girls
Jasper 52, Scranton 46
Jasper was able to secure its place in the state tournament with Sierra Johnson and Taylor Davidson leading the offense at County Line Gym.
Johnson finished with a team-high 17 points, while Davidson added 16 to help the offense for the Lady Pirates.
Scranton was led by Whitney Fox, who finished with a game-high 20 points to lead the Lady Rockets.
Jasper jumped out to a 17-9 lead after the initial quarter with the help of some hot shooting to open the game. The Lady Pirates made seven of their 10 shots in the first quarter, including their first five of the game.
Scranton was able to make a run in the second quarter to cut the Jasper edge to 23-20. Jasper then scored the final six points of the first half to take a 29-20 lead into the break.
Scranton was able to cut the lead to 48-42 with a 3-pointer from Libby Kremer with 1:40 left in the game, but Jasper was able to close out the game after that.
Scranton 9 11 10 16 -- 46
Jasper 17 12 9 14 -- 52
Scranton (14-15): Fox 20, Siebermorgan 9, Kremer 9, Terry 4, Blaschke 4.
Jasper (23-10): Johnson 17, Davidson 16, Lewis 7, Brasel 7, Flud 3, Little 2.
Kingston 45, County Line 39
Kingston made the shots it needed to pull away with an upset victory against the hosts in County Line in a first-round matchup at County Line Gym.
County Line held a 28-27 lead heading into the final quarter, but Kingston was quickly able to cut into that and push out its lead.
Mellia Johnson gave Kingston (14-20) back the lead with 3:34 left in the game. It was a lead that was never relinquished.
Kingston was able to make all eight attempts from behind the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to help secure the victory.
Kingston was led on offense by Johnson, who scored a team-high 20 points. Renee Pittman also added 14 points as well for Kingston.
Martha Neumeier scored a team-high 10 points for County Line (19-11) to pace the offense.
Kingston 13 4 10 18 -- 45
County Line 7 8 13 11 -- 39
Kingston (14-20): M. Johnson 20, Pittman 14, H. Johnson 5, L. Johnson 4, Cannon 2.
County Line (19-11): Neumeier 10, Oudomvilay 8, Parsons 8, Price 7, Toney 3, Acord 3.
4A-North Region at Morrilton
Boys
Morrilton 56, Huntsville 49
Jansen Bell had 16 points to lead a trio of Morrilton players in double figures as the Devil Dogs went on to defeat Huntsville.
Xavier Wright added 13 and Joseph Pinion 12 for Morrilton, which led 24-20 at halftime and 32-28 after three quarters. Sean McCone led Huntsville with 23 points while Beau Welchel contributed 20.
Morrilton will play Ozark in today's 5:30 p.m. semifinal game.
Dardanelle 52 Pea Ridge 33
Dardanelle outscored Pea Ridge 28-14 in the second half and pulled away as the 4A-4 Conference completed the sweep over the 4A-1 teams.
The Sand Lizards led 24-19 at halftime and pushed their lead to 37-27 entering the fourth quarter. Blake Chambers led Dardanelle with 11 points, while Sam Williams and A.J. Calavitta added 10 each.
Nick Coble led all scorers with 16 for Pea Ridge.
Girls
Harrison 66, Pottsville 48
Harrison outscored Pottsville 25-7 in the fourth quarter as the Lady Goblins moved on to the semifinals.
Caroline Cecil's steal and layup to start the fourth quarter broke a 41-41 tie, then Makayla Campbell sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers between a Pottsville basket and gave Harrison a 49-43 cushion. The Lady Goblins then secured the win by hitting 12 of 14 free throws in the fourth quarter.
Brylie Parker and Sydney Shrum had 13 points each in a balanced scoring attack for Harrison, while Cecil and Campbell added 12 points apiece. Shannon Lacy led Pottsville with 22 points while Abby James added 11.
Harrison plays Farmington in a 4 p.m. semifinal game today.
Berryville 51, Morrilton 30
Berryville held Morrilton to a single field goal in the second quarter as the Lady Bobcats pulled away and advanced to the semifinals.
Hannah Morrell had 14 points for Berryville, which outscored Morrilton 10-2 in the second quarter and stretched its lead to a 27-10 halftime margin. Baylee Smith hit a trio of 3-pointers in the first quarter and finished with 13, while Lexy Anderson had eight of the Lady Bobcats' 10 points in the second quarter and finished with 10.
Berryville will play Clarksville in a 7 p.m. game today.
3A Region 1 at Mountain View
Boys
Elkins 65, Bergman 63 2OT
Chad Graham poured in a game-high 32 points to help Elkins earn the double-overtime win on Thursday night.
Elkins led 32-26 at halftime. Graham was the only Elkins player in double figures. Elijah Royce led Bergman with 20.
Girls
Lincoln 59, Bergman 49
Jessica Goldman poured in a game-high 25 points to lead the Lady Wolves to the first-round victory.
Robin Kirk added 16 points and 12 rebounds for Lincoln, which led 31-16 at halftime. Kylie Jenkins added nine.
Kara Ponder led Bergman with 11 and Courtney Menke added 10.
Mountain View 63, Elkins 41
Mountain View jumped to a 42-23 halftime lead and rolled to the victory on Thursday.
Kaley Shipman led all scorers with 18 points for Mountain View, while Aubrey Isbell added 15 and Emery Johnson 10. Tiara Jackson led Elkins with 14, while Carla Burton chipped in 10.
Class 3A Region 2
At Perryville
Girls
Two Rivers 48, Glen Rose 35
Kaitlin Hunnicut scored a game-high 28 points, and the Lady Gators rolled to a double-digit win.
Love Dodridge scored 13 for Glen Rose, and Emma McJunkins scored 9.
Atkins 68, Harmony Grove 61
Ashton Dillard scored 23 points to lead Atkins to a first-round win.
Pilar Handie added 10 for Atkins.
Kailey Sutherland scored a game-high 24 points for Harmony Grove. Kylie Moore finished with 18 and Hailey Webb 12.
Boys
Fountain Lake 51, Glen Rose 41
Joe Murphy scored a game-high 20 points to power Fountain Lake.
Jordan Munyle added 12 and Ahman Johnson 11.
Jace Haynes led Glen Rose with 14. Brayden Lyons added 11 and Brenden Hill 10.
Mayflower 74, Jessieville 55
Tyler Tolliver knocked down five 3-pointers and scored 27 points for Mayflower.
Jay Nance scored 20 and Westin Pickrell had 11 for Mayflower.
Braxton Shifflett scored 19 for Jessieville and Tyler Holloway scored 13.
Class 2A West
At Danville
Girls
Hector 46, Flippin 31
Evelyn Riley scored a game-high 17 points to help Hector advance to the semifinals.
Courtney Barnett added 10 for Hector.
Still led Flippin with 14 points..
Danville 40, Eureka Springs 32
The host team earned a first-round win.
Lydia Stanley scored 14 for Danville. Jalene Tolbert scored 12 and Hally Rial 10.
Megan Holloway led Eureka Springs with 14 and Shelby Little scored 10.
Boys
Yellville-Summit 60, Lavaca 59, 3OT
It took three overtimes but Yellville-Summit held off Lavaca.
J.T. Frazier led Yellville-Summit with 17 points. Nash Dawden scored 14 and Ben Riddle scored 13.
Andrew Wright and Jordan Fenner scored 13 each for Lavaca. Matt Melton and Cayden Hearn scored 12 each.
Class 1A Region 2
At Calico Rock
Girls
Viola 63, Hillcrest 39
The Lady Longhorns jumped to a 38-13 halftime lead and cruised to the win on Thursday.
Mickayla Smith led Viola with 16 points, while Lindsey Brown scored a game-high 19 to lead Hillcrest.
Maynard 49, Izard County Consolidated 46 (OT)
Bethany Dobbins scored a game-high 23 points to lead the Lady Tigers to the hard-fought win.
Bethany Simmons led Izard County, which trailed 39-31 after three quarters, with 16 points.
Boys
Calico Rock 52, Crowley's Ridge Academy 42
Calico Rock grabbed a 38-27 halftime lead and cruised to the win on Thursday night.
Cole Whiteaker led all scorers with 20 points for Calico Rock, while Will Layne led CRA with 18.
Western Grove 59, Ridgefield Christian 52
The Warriors trailed by a point after three quarters, but rallied for the win.
Luke Lane led all scorers with 24 points for Western Grove, which trailed 41-40 after three quarters and 31-30 at halftime. Elijah Ellenburg led Ridgefield Christian with 17.
Sports on 02/22/2019