Postseason Starts For Area Basketball Teams

Staff Photo Randy Moll
Tahlon Hopkins, Farmington junior forward, blocks a shot Jan. 31 by Gravette’s Maddie Foster. Gravette will open play in the 4A-1 District Tournament at 4 p.m. today against Gentry. The District Tournament is being played in Farmington. The host Lady Cardinals will not play until 4 p.m. Friday.
Staff Photo Randy Moll Tahlon Hopkins, Farmington junior forward, blocks a shot Jan. 31 by Gravette’s Maddie Foster. Gravette will open play in the 4A-1 District Tournament at 4 p.m. today against Gentry. The District Tournament is being played in Farmington. The host Lady Cardinals will not play until 4 p.m. Friday.

It’s win or go home for some basketball teams in the 4A-1 and 3A-1 West conferences as district tournaments start today.

The 4A-1 Conference features four games today in Farmington — two boys and two girls — and those teams will have to win two games to advance their seasons to the North Regional Tournament next week in Lincoln.

There are two games on tap at the 3A-1 West District Tournament in Greenland— one boys and one girls — and today’s winners will punch a ticket to the Class 3A Regional Tournament.

4A-1 District Tournament

at Farmington

Tuesday

Game 1: No. 5 Gravette vs. No. 8 Gentry (G), 4 p.m.

Game 2: No. 5 Pea Ridge vs. No. 8 Gentry (B), 5:30 p.m.

Game 3: No. 6 Lincoln vs. No. 7 Pea Ridge (G), 7 p.m.

Game 4: No. 6 Berryville vs. No. 7 Ozark (B), 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday

Game 5: No. 3 Prairie Grove vs. Game 3 winner (G), 4 p.m.

Game 6: No. 3 Gravette vs. Game 4 winner (B), 5:30 p.m.

Game 7: No. 4 Berryville vs. Game 1 winner (G), 7 p.m.

Game 8: No. 4 Prairie Grove vs. Game 2 winner (B), 8:30 p.m.

Friday

Game 9: No. 1 Farmington vs. Game 7 winner (G), 4 p.m.

Game 10: No. 1 Lincoln vs. Game 8 winner (B), 5:30 p.m.

Game 11: No. 2 Ozark vs. Game 5 winner (G), 7 p.m.

Game 12: No. 2 Farmington vs. Game 6 winner (B), 8:30 p.m.

Saturday

Game 13: Girls championship, 5:30 p.m.

Game 14: Boys championship, 7 p.m.

3A-1 West District Tournament

at Greenland

Tuesday

Game 1: No. 4 West Fork vs, No. 5 Green Forest (G), 5:30 p.m.

Game 2: No. 4 Green Forest vs. No. 5 Greenland (B), 6:50 p.m.

Wednesday

Game 3: No. 1 Greenland vs. Winner Game 1 (G), 4 p.m.

Game 4: No. Cedarville vs. Winner Game 2 (B), 5:20 p.m.

Game 5: No. 2 Elkins vs. No. 3 Cedarville (G), 6:40 p.m.

Game 6: No. 2 Elkins vs. No. 3 West Fork (B), 8 p.m.

Friday

Game 7: Girls Championship, 6 p.m.

Game 8: Boys Championship, 7:30 p.m.

2A-4 West District Tournament

at Eureka Springs

Monday

Game 1: No. 5 Union Christian vs. No. 8 Hartford (G), 4 p.m.

Game 2: No. 5 Mountainburg vs. No. 8 Hartford (B), 5:30 p.m.

Game 3: No. 6 Eureka Springs vs. No. 7 Decatur (G), 7 p.m.

Game 4: No. 6 Johnson County Westside vs. No. 7 Magazine (B), 8:30 p.m.

Tuesday

Game 5: No. 4 Magazine vs. Game 1 winner (G), 4 p.m.

Game 6: No. 4 Union Christian vs. Game 2 winner (B), 5:30 p.m.

Game 7: No. 3 Hackett vs. Game 3 winner (G), 7 p.m.

Game 8: No. 3 Hackett vs. Game 4 winner (B), 8:30 p.m.

Thursday

Game 9: No. 2 Johnson County Westside vs. Game 7 winner (G), 4 p.m.

Game 10: No. 2 Decatur vs. Game 8 winner (B), 5:30 p.m.

Game 11: No. 1 Mountainburg vs. Game 5 winner (G), 7 p.m.

Game 12: No. 1 Eureka Springs vs. Game 6 winner (B), 8:30 p.m.

Saturday

Game 13: Girls championship, 7 p.m.

Game 14: Boys championship, 8:30 p.m.

The Greenland girls (16-9) are the two-time defending Class 3A state champions, and they have already qualified for the regional. They will face the winner of today’s game between West Fork and Green Forest on Wednesday after getting a first-round bye as the No. 1 seed.

The Elkins girls are the No. 2 seed, and they will face No. 3 seed Cedarville on Wednesday after both teams received a first-round bye. Greenland defeated Elkins 45-40 in the semifinals at the Class 3A State Tournament last season.

Greenland coach Alan Barton said the Lady Pirates are entering the postseason with momentum. Greenland will need to win just one game at the regional next week to advance to the state tournament.

“The hay is in the barn,” Barton said. “Knowing that your work in conference has led you to winning just one game at the regional, that was one of our goals. We met that goal. We want to be one of the top 16 to get a chance to win a state title.

“But anything can happen, and you have to be at the top of your game and be prepared. It’s all on the girls now. As coaches, all we try to do is orchestrate a game plan. It all comes down to the play of the girls.”

In the 4A-1, both Farmington teams and the Ozark girls and the Lincoln boys have already qualified for the regional tournament in Lincoln, and received byes to the district semifinals on Friday.

No. 5 seed Pea Ridge will open the postseason today against No. 8 seed Gentry while the other boys game will feature No. 6 Berryville against No. 7 Ozark. The winner of the Pea Ridge-Gentry game will face No. 4 Prairie Grove on Wednesday with the winner advancing to the Regional Tournament and a date in the semifinals against Farmington.

Pea Ridge enters the District Tournament after a pair of tough road losses to Farmington and Ozark last week, but first-year coach Trent Loyd said the Blackhawks are confident heading into post season play. Pea Ridge (13-13) faced several Class 7A schools during nonconference play and they also have a victory over No. 1 seed Lincoln.

“Confidence is such a big deal in this game, and I think we have that going in,” Loyd said. “The kids are still pushing, and they believe in themselves. They go out expecting that they are supposed to win every game we play. Hopefully, we can keep that going.”

Pea Ridge, which finished with an 8-6 conference record, swept the season series with Gentry, but Loyd expects another tough matchup with the Pioneers.

“You never like to face a team a third time after you have won the first two,” Loyd said. “It tough to beat a team three times, and they have been slowing the game down a lot lately. Gentry is playing well and they are competing in every single game. We expect a very close game, a dogfight. We just need to do our part and execute offensively.”

Lady Cardinals (20-4) coach Brad Johnson said earning a bye to the district semifinals is one of the team’s goals.

“That is huge, and that is something as coaches in this league that we talk about all the time,” Johnson said. “Regional tournament berths are hard to come by. If you can finish one or two and get that bye, it allows you to get a little more sleep. That is a testament to our league and how good the teams are. But we still have a lot of work to do.”

In Class 2A, Decatur’s two-game win streak last week secured the Bulldogs a berth in the regional tournament. Decatur opens play in the 2A-4 West District Tournament on Thursday at Eureka Springs, which will also host the regional next week.

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