NASHVILLE -- Top-ranked Arkansas Baptist survived a scare on an off night to down Bauxite 48-45 in the Class 4A state tournament quarterfinals Friday at Scrappers Arena.
The Eagles' 19th consecutive victory vaulted the defending state champions into the semifinals, where they'll play at 7:30 p.m. today.
"It wasn't the prettiest thing, but a win is a win, so we're happy," Arkansas Baptist Coach Brian Ross said. "We won without our best shooting night."
In fact, it was the Eagles' second-worst shooting performance of the season. They were 18 of 44 (40.9 percent) from the field and 2 of 12 from three-point range. Arkansas Baptist (29-4) hit 10 of 19 free throws and was only 4 of 10 from in the final 1:28 as Bauxite threatened.
"We're going to get in a gym and shoot some tomorrow because that was really out of character for us," Ross said. "We've shot over 50 percent on threes in 7 of our last 10 games, so I think we'll get it straightened out."
Ross credited Bauxite's defense with disrupting his team's offense, which funnels everything through 6-1 sophomore guard Isaac McBride and 7-3 junior center Connor Vanover, who had a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds. He also blocked three shots and altered several more.
In 10 seasons at Bauxite, Coach Andy Brakebill has turned the Miners into a team that believes it can win against a team featuring two future college players in Vanover and McBride, who scored a team-high 20 points.
CAVE CITY 56, NASHVILLE 44
The Cavemen (31-3) used long-range shooting to erase a nine-point deficit and eliminate the host Scrappers (26-5).
Five three-pointers -- including three of Blaine Bacon's six three-pointers -- gave Cave City a 48-42 lead with 2:38 remaining and was all the cushion the Cavemen needed to advance to the semifinals.
Nashville's Jhalon Finley hit three-pointers to begin the second and third quarters. His second-half three-pointers began an 11-0 run that was capped off by back-to-back buckets by CJ Spencer, which gave the Scrappers their largest lead (38-29) before the Cavemen scored the final four points to cut the deficit to 38-33 heading into the fourth quarter.
Bacon finished with 25 points and Matt Miller added 18 for the Cavemen.
The Scrappers received 18 points from Spencer.
Sports on 03/04/2017