Eight local basketball teams are still alive in their quests for state championships.
Class 1A begins state tournament play today at Morrilton with classes 2A-7A starting Tuesday and Wednesday. Bank of the Ozarks Arena will once again host the finals March 8-10.
Both Hot Springs teams will open play in the Class 5A state tournament Tuesday in Maumelle in one of the state's deepest classifications. Hot Springs won both the 5A-South boys' and girls' championships Friday at Trojan Fieldhouse.
The Lady Trojans (27-3) won their second straight conference title by defeating Watson Chapel (25-4), the two-time defending state champion, 65-56. They are matched up with Harrison (10-19), the No. 4 seed from the 5A-West, at 1 p.m. on Tuesday. The winner will play at 7 p.m. on Thursday against the winner of Beebe (20-10) and Batesville (21-7).
Lakeside's girls find themselves on the same side of the bracket as four teams ranked in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Class 5A Super Six. The only other Super Six member on the same side of the bracket as No. 3 Hot Springs is No. 5 Farmington (25-5).
The Lady Rams (20-9) will take on No. 6 Vilonia (24-5) Thursday at 1 p.m. Their half of the bracket includes No. 3 Watson Chapel, No. 2 Little Rock Christian (28-2) and No. 1 Nettleton (28-2). The winner between Lakeside and Vilonia will face Sylvan Hills (16-13) or top-ranked Nettleton.
Hot Springs' senior boys will open play Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. against Greenbrier (21-10) as the No. 1 seed from the 5A-South after the Trojans (22-11) defeated No. 6 Magnolia (18-6), 43-31, in Friday's conference final. The winner will play Thursday at 8:30 p.m. against the winner of No. 5 Little Rock Christian (20-8) and Blytheville (16-12).
Also on the same side of the bracket is No. 2 Harrison (25-4). The Trojans would not meet No. 1 Little Rock Mills (26-2) until the finals.
The Lake Hamilton senior boys are also entering the Class 6A tournament after securing a conference championship this weekend. The No. 4 Wolves (27-4) defeated No. 5 Benton (19-10), 53-35, to be the 6A-West's No. 1 seed.
Lake Hamilton has a bye in the first round of the Class 6A state tournament at West Memphis and now awaits the winner of Wednesday's game between Greenwood (14-12) and No. 3 Little Rock Hall (22-8). The winner will face the Wolves on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
A win would likely mean a semifinal matchup with No. 1 West Memphis (27-3) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. No. 2 Jonesboro (23-5) is on the other side of the bracket after the Hurricane took the top seed from the 6A-East with a 70-67 overtime victory at West Memphis Saturday night.
The No. 5 Lady Wolves (17-13) defeated No. 3 Sheridan (22-7), 33-27, on the road Saturday to earn the 6A-West's No. 3 seed. They will face Jacksonville (14-16) Thursday at 1 p.m. The winner of Thursday's game will face the host team, West Memphis (16-14), the No. 2 seed from the East, on Friday at 7 p.m.
Jessieville's boys have three full days to recover after Saturday's 53-51 overtime loss to Class 3A No. 3 Perryville (26-4) Saturday in the 3A-1 regional final at Two Rivers High School in Ola. The Lions (24-6) are matched up in the first round of the Class 3A state tournament at Drew Central in Monticello with Manila (22-11), the No. 3 seed from the 3A-3, at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The winner will face the winner of Tuesday's game between Harding Academy (22-8), the top seed from the 3A-2 region, and Junction City (16-12). Harding Academy upset No. 2 Tuckerman (34-5) in their regional semifinal Friday. Jessieville's half of the bracket includes No. 1 McGehee (24-4), which the Lions could meet in the semifinals.
Centerpoint (20-12) earned the top seed from the 3A-7 conference at regional with its 39-38 victory in the district final over Prescott (10-18). The Knights lost, 57-55, to No. 4 Drew Central (26-4) in the regional semifinal before topping Junction City, 58-53, in the third-place game at Fordyce on Saturday.
They now get Barton (15-7), the No. 2 seed from the 3A-2 region, at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. The winner will advance to face either Valley Springs (28-9) or Perryville on Friday.
Mountain Pine's senior boys may face the toughest challenge of all local teams heading into this week's Class 2A state tournament at White County Central in Judsonia, located between Searcy and Bald Knob. They will attempt to avoid the same fate as the football team, which began 7-1 in the fall before losing three straight games to end the season.
The Red Devils were ranked No. 3 in the Class 2A Super Six at 25-3 after winning a 12th straight game, 69-53, over Blevins (24-8) in the 2A-7 West district tournament championship Feb. 17 in Poyen. They booked a trip to state with a 68-54 win over Rison (6-15) in the first round of the 2A-South regional tournament, which was also held in Poyen.
Mountain Pine (26-5) finished as the No. 4 seed from the 2A-South after consecutive losses to No. 4 Bearden (23-5) and Camden Harmony Grove (21-11). The Red Devils must now face No. 2 Clarendon (26-4) Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. Clarendon defeated No. 1 and previously undefeated Marked Tree (28-1) in the semifinal round of the 2A-North regional before falling to Earle (26-7) in the final.
The boys' 2A bracket boasts one of the deepest fields in the state. Seven of the 12 teams have seven losses or less. The other five are Harmony Grove, Jacksonville Lighthouse (19-16), East Poinsett County (19-12), England (22-8) and Quitman (25-12), while teams such as Blevins, Cotter (22-11) and No. 6 Lavaca (23-8) were eliminated earlier in postseason play.
The winner between Clarendon and Mountain Pine will face host White County Central (32-6), which has a bye in the first round as the 2A-West/Central champion, Friday at 5:30 p.m. Bearden also has a bye on the same side of the bracket and will play Friday against the winner of the first-round matchup between Marked Tree and Quitman.
Sports on 02/26/2018