Pangburn falls to Earle in 2A quarterfinals

Pangburn’s Cade McKee goes up for a shot against Earle on Friday in Quitman. Pangburn led at the half but fell to Bulldogs, 73-42. PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHELLE McCARTY

March 6, 2020

By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY

QUITMAN – Pangburn held the lead during most of the first half, but Earle’s second-half scoring outburst became too much for the Tigers to overcome.

Earle (20-9) trailed 27-24 at halftime and returned with a 21-6 third-quarter scoring run and defeated Pangburn 73-42 in the Class 2A state tournament quarterfinals at the Bulldog Complex.

Luke Rolland scored 17 points for Pangburn, while Cade McKee finished with 10 points. Rholly Davis led Earle with a game-high 19 points. Jermayne Johnson scored 17 points, followed by Donnie Warren with 15 points and Donnie Cheers had 11 points.

McGee made 2-of-2 free throws and Alex Langley hit 1-of-2 free throws as Pangburn led 8-5 midway through the first quarter. Rolland tied the game at 8-8 with a 3-pointer, but the Tigers regained the lead on another 3-pointer by Rolland.

Cheers scored late in the quarter and reduced Pangburn’s lead to 11-10 going into the second quarter.

The score was tied twice early in the second quarter before Pangburn regained the lead on Jadyn Ramsey’s field goal. Earle rallied for a 20-19 lead before back-to-back 3- pointers by Rolland and Brenden Grayum, giving the Tigers a 25-20 lead.

Pangburn maintained the lead and held a 27-24 advantage at halftime.

The tide turned midway through the third quarter with the game tied at 31-31. Earle had a 14-2 scoring run and pulled away to a 45-33 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Earle outscored the Tigers 28-6 during the fourth quarter.

Pangburn finished the season with a record of 24-15.

PANGBURN-EARLE BOXSCORE
Class 2A Quarterfinals
at QUITMAN
Pangburn  11 16  6  9 - 42
Earle     10 14 21 28 - 73
PANGBURN SCORING (42): Luke Rolland 17, Cade McKee 10, Tanner Galyan 8, Brenden Grayum 3, Jadyn Ramsey 3, Alex Langley 1.
EARLE SCORING (73): Rholly Davis 19, Jermayne Johnson 17, Donnie Warren 15, Donnie Cheers 11, Nick Mathis 6, Devin Johnson 5. 



Bradshaw gets win as Harding wins ninth-in-a-row

March 6, 2020

By SCOTT GOODE/HARDING SPORTS INFORMATION

SEARCY – Harding baseball scored in five consecutive innings Friday and defeated Southeastern Oklahoma 7-2 in game one of its three-game Great American Conference series at Jerry Moore Field.

The win was Harding’s ninth straight overall and fifth straight in the GAC and moved the Bisons to 16-5 overall and 7-3 in conference games. The Bisons moved into second place in the GAC standings, one game back of leader Oklahoma Baptist. Harding and Southeastern Oklahoma (10-10, 3-7) conclude the series with a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.

Trailing 1-0 entering in the bottom of the fourth, Harding tied the game on a Connor Kelly single that scored Miles Humphreys.

Harding took the lead for good in the fifth on a Michael Chrisman RBI single that plated Brendan Perrett.

The Bisons took a 4-1 lead with two more in the sixth. The runs came on a Cody Smith sacrifice fly and Chris Witzke’s single that scored Kelly.

Kelly had another RBI single in the seventh to give the Bisons a 5-2 lead. In the eighth, Harding tacked on two more on three consecutive doubles from Owen Martin, Perrett and Chrisman.

Harding starter Andrew Bradshaw (4-2) allowed single runs in the second and sixth innings but worked out of trouble both times, stranding the bases loaded on both occasions.

Bradshaw struck out six and got eight groundball outs, throwing 90 pitches over six innings.

Ryder Yakel came on in the seventh and retired nine straight hitters, six by strikeout. He threw 27 of his 37 pitches for strikes and had 10 swings and misses.

Southeastern starter Jacob Potter (3-3), the reigning GAC Pitcher of the Week, lasted six innings and allowed four runs (two earned) with five strikeouts and took the loss.

Kelly led Harding, going 3-for-4 with a run and two RBIs. He leads the team with eight multi-hit games and seven multi-RBI games. Chrisman and Perrett had two hits each.

Harding had 12 hits, the sixth time in the last seven games the Bisons had 10 or more.

Quitman runs past Marmaduke, advances to 2A semifinals

Quitman’s Autumn Johnson drives past a Marmaduke defender during class 2A senior girls state quarterfinal action in Quitman. The Bulldogs defeated the Hounds, 71-37, to move into Saturday’s semifinals.

March 6, 2020

By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY

QUITMAN – Friday turned into another day at the office for the Quitman Lady Bulldogs.

The Lady Bulldogs controlled from start to finish and defeated the Marmaduke Lady Greyhounds 71-37 in the quarterfinals of the Class 2A state basketball tournament at the Bulldog Complex.

Quitman (29-3) will meet Earle (30-6) at 6 p.m. today with the winner advancing to the state championship game at the Hot Springs Convention Center next weekend. Earle defeated Conway Christian 59-41 in Friday’s quarterfinals.

“It was nothing different than what we did in games during the entire season,” Quitman coach Timothy Hooten said. “We were very accurate on shooting 3-pointers. Every game we play, I tell the girls to play like it is a championship game, so when we get to the championship game, it will be like another game.”

Carson Rackley was one of four Quitman players scoring in double figures with 17 points. Autumn Johnson had 15 points, while Taylor Hooten and Lucy Hooten each finished with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

The Lady Bulldogs made nine 3-pointers, led by Johnson and Hooten, who each had three. Halle Bennett, Gracie Smith and Rackley each made a 3-pointer.

Quitman’s Carson Rackley goes up for a shot against Marmaduke’s Zoe Massey during 2A state senior girls quarterfinal action at Quitman. PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHELLE McCARTY

Reesa Hampton, who made four 3-pointers, led Marmaduke with 16 points. Heidi Robinson, one of the team’s leading scorers on the season, was held to five points no 3-pointers.

“I told the girls to challenge Robinson to shoot 3-pointers,” Hooten said. “We didn’t want Hampton shooting 3-pointers, but she did. When Robinson picked up her fourth foul, they put a smaller girl into the game, and we took advantage of the mismatch inside.”

Holland made a jumper to break a 2-2 tie early in the first quarter. Quitman increased its lead and took an 18-9 advantage going into the second quarter.
Smith’s 3-pointer gave the Lady Bulldogs a double-digit lead at 24-11 with less than six minutes left in the first half. The two teams played even for the remainder of the quarter as Quitman led 33-20 at halftime.

Quitman outscored Marmaduke 22-15 during the third quarter and held a 55-35 lead going into the fourth quarter.

“The third quarter has been a big quarter most of the season,” Hooten said. “We came out and played at a higher level of intensity.”

Quitman finished the game on a 16-2 scoring run.

The Lady Bulldogs will get a familiar state tournament opponent in Earle, also the Lady Bulldogs. Earle ended Quitman’s season last year in the state quarterfinals with a 70-58 decision, cost Quitman a chance to repeat as state champions in 2018 with a 48-43 setback in the 2A finals while the Cleburne County Lady Bulldogs downed Earle 49-44 in the semifinals before going on to win the 2A state title in 2017

“Saturday is going to be a great game,” Hooten said. “We don’t have the size like recent seasons, but our posts still play good defense and know how to take charges. We will be ready to play Earle.”

QUITMAN-MARMADUKE BOXSCORE
Marmaduke  9 11 15  2 - 37
Quitman   18 15 22 16 - 71
MARMADUKE SCORING (37): Reesa Hampton 16, Karlin Gilliam 5, Heidi Robinson 5, Angel Johnson 5, Maranda Bear 3, Tori Sutherland 2, Zoe Massey 1.
QUITMAN SCORING (71): Carson Rackley 17, Autumn Johnson 15, Taylor Hooten 13, Lucy Holland 12, Halle Bennett 7, Gracie Smith 3, Erin Stephens 2, Haley Trawick 2.