BALD KNOB -- The Jessieville Lions swept their regular-season series with Centerpoint, but their final win over the Knights was just a little sweeter.
The fourth-seeded Lions avenged a first-round loss to Centerpoint in last year's Class 3A tournament on their home court, besting the top-seeded Knights 55-49 in this season's opening round Wednesday at Bald Knob High.
"We did beat them twice, but that was without their best player (Keenan Owens) those two games," said Jessieville coach Eddie Lamb, winning his first state-tournament game since making the 2013 semifinals. "It was early the first time, and I knew coach (Kevin) Owens was going to have a different bunch this time of the year. You throw it all out of the book when it comes to state-tournament time, especially with the exciting rivalry we've had playing two years in a row."
Jessieville (22-10) awaits today's winner of Marshall and Tuckerman at 8:30 p.m. Friday.
"Glad to be back in the elite eight and hope to be back in the final four," Lamb said. "It's always fun this time of the year when you can do that."
Centerpoint (17-13) ended the half on a drought of more than four minutes. The opening slump allowed the Lions to lead 12-0, but the Knights went 10 of 14 from the field between the dry spells, pushing back to a 16-14 deficit at the end of the first and a 24-22 lead with 4:27 left in the first half.
Braxton Shifflett then knocked down his second three-pointer of the second quarter, and Jessieville scored the final five for a 27-24 halftime lead.
"Jumping out to the lead like that was nice, but you have to give Centerpoint credit. They fought back and took the lead," Lamb said. "As good as we started, we came across a team that it didn't affect them long. Luckily, we were able to come back and actually establish a lead at one time."
Shifflett got another bucket to start the second half, but Centerpoint junior center Parker Sutton countered with a personal 7-0 run for a 31-29 lead. Sutton finished with a game-high 23 points, including 17 in the second half and 11 in the third quarter to lead the Knights to a 37-36 advantage by period's end.
"Parker has gotten better with every game this season," Centerpoint coach Kevin Owens said. "He's really played well for us, and today he played big for us. He's a junior, and hopefully, he continues to improve. He works his butt off, and he's in the gym when I leave."
Centerpoint went up 42-38 with 5:10 left, but the Lions countered with six straight points on three-pointers by Shifflett and Payton Barnett. Sutton tied it at 44 with another basket on the block, but Dylan Anderson made it 46-44 on a backdoor layup with 2:07 left.
Centerpoint made just one of two free throws on the other end, and Shifflett got a layup and Alex Burleson two free throws for 50-45 with 52 seconds left. Sophomore Shifflett made a splash in his first state-tournament game, finishing with a team-high 18 points.
"I told him that a little sophomore grew up tonight," Lamb said. "He played great, he made some big shots, and it was fun to watch because I got him for two more years. But he really grew up tonight, and if that doesn't give him confidence, I don't know what will."
The Knights kept fighting back, Keenan Owens and Sutton bookending three of four Jessieville free throws with buckets to make it 53-49. Then some controversy occurred when Centerpoint guard Owen Bright appeared to steal the ball from Jessieville guard Sawyer Lamb under the Centerpoint goal, but Bright was whistled for the foul, inciting the large group of Knight supporters, and Lamb made one of two free throws for 54-49 with 17 seconds left.
The Lions got one more stop, and Burleson made 1 of 2 with six seconds left to set the final margin. Jessieville was boosted by making 18 of 24 free throws, including 9 of 12 in the final quarter.
"It was great the way Alex stepped up there, and Shifflett and Sawyer hit some," Eddie Lamb said. "We hit those free throws down the stretch, and (Payton) Barnett hit a couple of big threes down the stretch. Braxton Shifflett hit some as well. We hit a lot of big shots and so did Centerpoint, so free throws helped us get across the line and finish off this game."
In contrast, Centerpoint didn't attempt a free throw until the fourth quarter, making just 1 of 4. The Knights were perfect on 16 attempts while capturing the school's first state victory last year at Jessieville.
"It was a big difference because you had my guys sitting on the bench with foul trouble," Kevin Owens said. "They shot the ball well, and we knew that coming in. All credit goes to them, and they did what they had to do to win, but yeah, I wish we could've gotten some of theirs in foul trouble, too."
Burleson added 17 points and Barnett 13, mostly on four threes, for the Lions. Burleson and Barnett were integral in Jessieville's hot start, Burleson scoring eight and Barnett six in Jessieville's last 12-point lead, 14-2.
Bright finished with 12 points on four threes.
Jessieville;16 11 9 19 -- 55
Centerpoint;14 10 13 12 -- 49
Jessieville: Shifflett 18, Burleson 17, Barnett 13, Anderson 4, Lamb 3.
Centerpoint: Sutton 23, Bright 12, Owens 6, Chambers 4, Ramirez 4.
Sports on 03/02/2017