LITTLE ROCK -- Instant replay could be the deciding factor in a close state basketball championship game after the Arkansas Activities Association board of directors approved the use of the tool, starting this season.
The final shot of a game, a 2- or 3-point attempt, will now be eligible for review by officials using the video from the AETN television broadcast. Officials will determine if a play should be reviewed. AETN began broadcasting football and basketball state championships games last year.
Arkansas becomes the 17th state to use replay at some level in state basketball tournaments, according to National Federation of State High School Associations communications director Bruce Howard. Nine states -- Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and West Virginia -- use replay for the state championship game only. Michigan, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin use replay for the state finals and semifinals, while Hawai'i, New Mexico and North Dakota have replay for the finals, semifinals and early round games.
This season's state basketball championship games will be held March 12-14 at Bank OZK Arena.
Other items from Thursday's meeting:
* The weight classifications for girls wrestling were approved. The 10 weight classes are 100, 108, 116, 124, 132, 140, 150, 165, 185 and 235 pounds. There are 27 schools approved for girls wrestling, including at least one Garland County school. The state wrestling championships will be held Feb. 20-22 at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.
* West Memphis Superintendent Jon Collins' resignation from his post on the AAA board of directors was accepted. Collins was involved in an incident with an officiating crew Sept. 20 after West Memphis' 21-14 loss at Wynne. Those on the crew in Wynne accused Collins of spitting on one of the game's officials. A petition signed by officials in the state called for Collins to resign from the AAA board of directors because of the incident. Collins resigned from the AAA on Oct. 1.
* The appeal by the Fort Smith Public School District to have its two high schools, Northside and Southside, placed in the same conference was denied by the AAA. The board voted 11-5 against the schools joining the 7A West for football and 9-8 against joining the 6A West for other sports. If it had passed, the 7A West would have nine members and the 7A East seven.
The last time the two Fort Smith schools -- which are less than 3 miles apart -- were not in the same conference was 1980 when Northside played in the then-AAAAA and Southside was in the AAAA-West. Northside and Southside are currently in the 7A-Central Conference.
OBU 27, SNU 13
Inclement weather and the Southern Nazarene defense kept Ouachita Baptist scoreless for most of the first half Thursday night in Bethany, Okla.
But once the OBU (8-0) offense got going, there was no stopping it.
In a game of runs, Southern Nazarene (2-6) jumped out to a first-half lead before falling to the Tigers.
Nate Walker's 33-yard touchdown run just over three minutes into the game and 2-yard touchdown run with 8:20 left in the first half gave the Crimson Storm a 13-0 lead after Keandre Evans blocked Ryan Reid's extra-point attempt following Walker's second touchdown.
It was all OBU (8-0) after that. Brockton Brown scored on a 25-yard touchdown run with 1:19 left in the first half, cutting Southern Nazarene's lead to 13-7 at halftime. He added a 13-yard touchdown run with 11:29 left in the third quarter, and after the snap on the extra-point attempt was fumbled, the game was tied at 13-13.
After another fumble stalled the Tigers' next possession, Brown added his third touchdown -- a 60-yard run -- to give OBU its first lead at 20-13. TJ Ford provided the final touchdown on a 28-yard run with 1:28 left in the game, capping a 12-play, 80-yard drive that took 6:12 off the clock.
Brown finished with 157 yards on 20 carries to lead the Tigers' rushing attack. Brayden Brazeal went 5-of-8 passing for 27 yards, with all five catches made by Allie Freeman. The Tigers' defense did its part, too, holding the Crimson Storm to 135 yards of total offense.
Sports on 10/26/2019