FORDYCE -- No. 4 seed Smackover gave Centerpoint more than it bargained for Wednesday night, but the top-seeded Knights would not be denied in the fourth quarter.
Trailing 40-36 at the end of the third period, Centerpoint's Parker Sutton scored 10 points in the final frame as the Knights (19-11) outscored the Buckaroos (5-19), 15-6, to escape with a 51-46 win in the first round of the 3A-4 regional tournament at Fordyce High School.
Clinching a berth in the Class 3A state tournament at Drew Central, Centerpoint will face Drew Central (24-3) or Genoa Central (14-12) in the semifinals at 8:30 p.m. tonight.
After both teams scored 11 points in the opening quarter, Smackover got eight points from Corbin Lee in the second period, outscoring the Knights 20-10 for a 31-21 halftime lead.
Held to just two points in the first half, Centerpoint's Owen Bright had seven points in the third quarter as the Knights bounced back to pull within 40-36 entering the fourth period.
As Centerpoint tightened its defense, Sutton fueled the offense to send the Knights to the semifinal round. The Buckaroos were left wondering what might have been if not for six missed free throws in the fourth quarter.
Sutton led all scorers with 30 points and Bright finished with 12 points, including two 3-pointers. Peyton Jones paced Smackover with 12 points, while Brice Lockhart had 11 points and Damarous White scored 10 points.
The Knights earned the No. 1 seed from 3A-7 district tournament with a 39-38 win over Prescott (10-17) Saturday at Cossatot River. Sutton led all scorers with 17 points, including 14 points in the first half when the teams were knotted at 27-27. The two teams combined to score 23 total points in the second half.
JESSIEVILLE-CHARLESTON
OLA -- Leading 11-5 at the end of the first quarter, the Charleston Lady Tigers kept their foot on the gas Wednesday night against Jessieville.
Charleston stretched its lead to 26-15 at the half before cruising to a 53-35 win in the first round of the 3A-1 regional tournament at Two Rivers High School.
The Lady Tigers (18-7) will face Lamar (20-6) or Greenland (9-19) in the semifinals at 7 p.m. tonight. Jessieville finished its season with a record of 15-14, falling one game shy of the Class 3A state tournament at Drew Central.
Charleston's Hattie Newhart finished with a game-high 20 points, including 15 in the second half as the Lady Tigers outscored Jessieville 16-12 in the third quarter and 11-8 in the fourth quarter.
Payton Rucker added 13 points for the Lady Tigers, with 10 coming in the second half. Sophomore Lilliana Fehrenbacher paced the Lady Lions with 12 points.
HSU freshman wins GAC weekly honor
ARKADELPHIA -- Henderson State freshman Trey DePriest was named the first Great American Conference Men's Golfer of the Week of the 2018 spring season.
Playing in his first collegiate tournament, the freshman from Monette helped lead Henderson to a first-place finish at the St. Mary's Rattler Invitational in San Antonio, Texas, earlier this week. DePriest is a graduate of Buffalo Island Central High School.
DePriest placed third out of 85 competitors, posting rounds of 74 and 71 to finish 1-over par on the par 72, 6,892-yard Dominion Country Club Course. He totaled 23 pars and six birdies for the 36 holes including three straight birdies in the opening round.
Henderson won the 16-team event, beating four teams ranked in the top 50 of Golfstat's Division II rankings. The Reddies moved up 14 spots to be ranked No. 32 this week.
Also nominated were Mason Banger, senior, Harding; and Zach James, junior, Southeastern Oklahoma State.
Southwestern Oklahoma State senior Emily Folsom was named the season's first GAC Women's Golfer of the Week. Also nominated was Pia Nunbhakdi, junior, Arkansas Tech.
GAC baseball, softball games rescheduled
ARKADELPHIA -- Due to the threat of inclement weather in Arkansas and Oklahoma this weekend, Henderson State and Ouachita Baptist's baseball and softball games originally scheduled for Friday and Saturday have been shifted to Sunday Monday.
Henderson's baseball team was scheduled to play a doubleheader Friday and a single game on Saturday, all against Oklahoma Baptist (8-2, 3-0 Great American Conference). The Reddies (6-4, 3-0) will instead start the doubleheader at 1 p.m. Sunday at Clyde Berry Field and play a single game Monday at noon.
The softball team was scheduled to play doubleheaders Friday and Saturday at Oklahoma Baptist (3-5) in Shawnee, Okla. The first doubleheader has been rescheduled for 3 p.m. on Sunday. Henderson (8-3) will start two more games on Monday at noon.
Ouachita was scheduled to play a single game Friday and a doubleheader Saturday against Southern Nazarene (4-6, 0-3) at Rab Rodgers Field. The Tigers will face the Crimson Storm in a doubleheader Sunday and close the series on Monday.
The Tigers' softball team had its doubleheaders with Southern Nazarene (3-7) in Bethany, Okla., rescheduled from Friday and Saturday to Sunday and Monday. Ouachita (4-3) and the host team will both be opening GAC play.
Sports on 02/23/2018