4A-7 BOYS

CAC takes slow road to 4A-7 title

— Central Arkansas Christian extended its winning streak to 16 games and claimed the 4A-7 Tournament championship by defeating Arkadelphia 42-37 on Saturday.

Dylan Sherrill scored 16 points to lead the Mustangs, who overcame an early 20-10 deficit.

“We really wanted to play faster than that, but we got in a zone and that changed things,” CAC Coach Steve Quattlebaum said. “This bunch is very competitive. They work hard and they hate to lose. Hopefully we can keep it going for awhile.”

Arkadelphia (17-11) raced out to its 10-point first-half lead on baskets by Kris Oliver, Mark Brazil and Rashad Young. But CAC withstood Arkadelphia’s initial momentum and methodically worked its way back into the game with Quattlebaum’s zone defense.

CAC made six consecutive free throws and got baskets from Joshua Holland and Travis Byrne to cut Arkadelphia’s lead to 23-20 by halftime.

A three-pointer by Sherrill and Holland’s three-point play near the end of the third quarter tied it at 30.

CAC kept Arkadelphia from increasing the pace and got scores from Holland, Byrne and Sherrill to take a 36-34 lead. Sherrill completed a three-point play to put CAC up by five with three minutes to play, but Oliver hit a threepointer for Arkadelphia.

That didn’t rattle CAC, as Sherrill and Logan Stafford made free throws in the final 30 seconds.

Holland finished with 14 points. Arkadelphia was led by Brazil and Oliver with 21 points each.

GIRLS MALVERN 58, BAUXITE 41

Malvern Coach Jess Martin made a defensive adjustment midway throughthe third quarter that led his team to a victory over host Bauxite in the championship game.

Bauxite (20-8) had erased a six-point Malvern lead with two consecutive three-pointers from Mary Crow when Martin instituted a full-court press that forced five consecutive Bauxite turnovers. Malvern’s Alivia Huell, Akasha Westbrook, Raven Baker and Tiffany Murdock scored on a flurry of fastbreaks and from the free-throw line. Murdock’s three-pointer beat the thirdquarter buzzer to end Malvern’s rally with a 48-36 lead.

With the tempo securely in Malvern’s favor, Shakara Penix hit a three-pointer to start the fourth quarter to give Malvern (26-2) a 15-point lead. Bauxite never recovered.

“The defense is what won the game,” Martin said.

Murdock led Malvern with 21 points, Baker finished with 14 points and Huell added 12. Crow led Bauxite in scoring with 19.

Sports, Pages 33 on 02/17/2013

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