HOT SPRINGS -- The Earle Bulldogs went back-to-back Thursday night.
Earle won its second consecutive Class 2A boys basketball state championship and ninth overall in a 81-62 victory over Marked Tree at Bank of the Ozarks Arena.
The Bulldogs also won last year's Class 2A state title, defeating East Poinsett County. It's Coach Billy Murray's sixth state title.
"The second one is sweeter than the first one," Murray said of repeating. "I know this is my sixth title, but it feels like my first one.
"To come back and repeat, great season, fellas."
The Bulldogs (30-5) defeated the 2A-3 Conference rival Indians two out of three times this season. They won each of their three 2A state tournament games by at least 20 points.
Junior forward Travonta Doolittle finished with 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting to lead Earle.
Senior forward Dontrell Johnson had 16 points, senior guard B.J. Murray poured in 15 points, and junior forward Gerry Bohanon finished with 12 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals.
Bohanon, who has started at quarterback for Earle's football team the past three seasons, was confident the Bulldogs could win their second state title in a row.
"We knew we were going to win it all," Bohanon said. "We knew it from the jump."
Earle shot 67.4 percent (31 of 46) from the floor Thursday, and Marked Tree Coach Barbara Wilburn said the Bulldogs were too much for the Indians.
"They hit us in the mouth, and we didn't recover from it," Wilburn said.
Earle led 38-25 at halftime. The Bulldogs shot 69.6 percent (16 of 23) in the first half.
Doolittle gave the Bulldogs their first lead, 10-9, with a three-pointer with 3:39 to play in the first quarter. The Bulldogs closed the quarter on an 11-3 run and went into the second quarter with an 18-12 lead.
Earle extended its lead to 20-12 early in the second quarter on Johnson's dunk. The Bulldogs made it 31-17 midway through the second quarter on sophomore guard Kevon Smith's three-pointer. Earle's largest lead of the half was 36-19 after Doolittle's basket.
In the third quarter, Earle kept pushing. Doolittle's steal and dunk made it 45-27 Bulldogs with 6:06 to play in the quarter. Marked Tree cut the lead to 49-34 on junior forward Colby Malone's basket, but the Bulldogs went into the fourth quarter with a 61-44 advantage.
"They kept coming in droves," Wilburn said.
Earle continued to pour it on in the fourth quarter. Johnson scored consecutive baskets for a 67-48 lead, and Earle's largest lead was 79-55 with 1:23 to play.
Marked Tree (28-12), the No. 4 seed from the 2A-3 this season, was led by two players with 15 points apiece: Malone and junior guard Markel Perry-Washington. The Indians had one senior play in Thursday's game, so Wilburn believes the future is bright for her team.
"These kids have played their hearts out all year," Wilburn said. "Nobody expected us to be here. Nobody. It seemed like we turned it around at the district tournament where we played our type of ball."
Bohanon already is thinking about winning a third state title in his senior season next year.
"We'll three-peat," Bohanon said.
Johnson agreed with his teammate.
"Look behind us," said Johnson, pointing to Billy Murray. "You see right there. We develop a lot of good talent. A lot of great talent, actually."
MVP
B.J. MURRAY
EARLE
The Bulldogs senior guard scored 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting. He also had 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal. Murray was 3 of 5 from the free-throw line for the Bulldogs, who were the No. 1 seed from the 2A-3 Conference. Murray scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half as Earle pulled away for its second consecutive state championship and ninth overall.
And ones
Earle has won nine state titles since 1974, but Thursday’s victory over Marked Tree was the first time the Bulldogs have won backto-back titles. … Earle hit 16 of 23 first-half shots and was 15 of 23 in the second half. The Bulldogs were 26 of 35 on two-point attempts. … Marked Tree attempted 10 more shots than Earle but hit six fewer shots. … Marked Tree’s Nick Andrews grabbed six rebounds, all on the offensive end.
— Jeremy Muck, Tim Cooper
Quotable
“They don’t graduate. They reload.”
— Marked Tree Coach Barbara Wilburn on Earle’s 2017 Class 2A state championship team
Sports on 03/10/2017