The opening games of the North Arkansas College Senior Boys Invitational Tournament provided basketball fans with exciting basketball action.
The first game of the day involved Mt. Judea and Norfork, but Mt. Judea pulled out of the competition allowing the Panthers to move on to the next round.
Yellville-Summit pulled away from Alpena to post a 57-44 win. Ozark Mountain downed Lead Hill, 55-41.
Yellville-Summit 57, Alpena 44
Yellville-Summit began to pull away in the third period on the way to producing a 57-44 win over Alpena.
Halfway through the fourth period, Alpena had whittled a double digit fourth period deficit to 46-41 after D.J. Evans scored on an offensive putback.
Unfortunately for the Leopards, they only scored one more time the rest of the game.
Sophomore Noah Ferguson scored for the Panthers to make it a three-possession contest. That started an 11-3 run over the last 3:15 of the game.
Ferguson’s bucket was followed by a three-point play from Hunter Hickerson.
Kendell Hickerson secured an offensive rebound for the Panthers and turned it into a 12-point lead with a basket.
Alpena’s Slade Harp hit a 3-pointer to account for the last of the Leopard points.
In the final 49.9, the Panthers were 4-of-6 from the line with Hunter Raley hitting three free throws and Kendell Hickerson the last one.
Yellville-Summit opened the third period trailing Alpena, 24-23.
The Panthers got a 3-pointer from Hunter Hickerson and then a basket from Kendell Hickerson. Yellville-Summit never trailed again.
Hayden Jones scored for the Leopards after taking a pass from Keaton Toliver.
But that bucket was answered with a 3-pointer from Trent Purdom from the corner.
Jones scored again for Alpena after taking an entry pass from Harp.
Raley and Kendell Hickerson hit for back-to-back buckets to keep it from being a one-possession contest the rest of the way.
Yellville-Summit led, 42-34, with a quarter left to play.
Leading Yellville-Summit in scoring was Purdom with 11 points. Hunter Hickerson added 10, Kendell Hickerson and Raley nine each, Ferguson six, Landon Keiter five, Bryce Ott four, River Hill two and Noah Cantrall one.
Alpena was led by Jones and Toliver with 12 points each. Evans and Harp added nine each and Brendon Adams two.
Ozark Mountain 55, Lead Hill 41
Ozark Mountain pulled away from Lead Hill in the closing minutes to post a 55-41 win.
The Bears entered the fourth period with a 37-31 lead after Lead Hill’s Kaden Baker hit a shot to end the third period.
Marcus Fields started the fourth for the Bears with a basket.
Coda Lemon answered with a free throw before Kooper Baker hit a 3-pointer to give the Bears a double digit lead at 42-32.
The Tigers answered with two 3-pointers in a row over the next 90 seconds of action.
Kaden Baker hit a triple and then Cedomir Petrovic hit from the corner to make it a 42-38 contest with 5:45 left.
The offenses for both teams came to a halt.
For more than three minutes neither team scored.
Finally Cobie Chaney broke the ice with a basket inside for Ozark Mountain. That bucket was followed by another score inside for the Bears.
Mason Gilmore pulled down an offensive rebound and scored to make it a three-possession contest with two minutes left.
Kaden Baker hit his second trey of the fourth period and the Tigers were back within five points with 1:50 left.
Lead Hill didn’t score again.
Ozark Mountain ended the game on a 9-0 run.
The first three minutes of the game saw a 5-4 score. Then Ozark Mountain finished the last of the first period with a 13-1 run.
That run started with a Fields 3-pointer that was followed by a Kooper Baker basket.
Gilmore made his first bucket before Fields scored again.
Tate Dixon hit a bucket to make it 16-4 in favor of Ozark Mountain.
Kaden Baker had a free throw for Lead Hill, but Gilmore scored in the Lead Hill trees with an offensive putback.
A Chaney free throw with 1:53 left in the first half gave the Bears a 25-10 lead.
Lead Hill scored an 8-3 run to end the half.
Kaden Baker hit a basket and Nolan Turner added a free throw.
Nicklas May scored inside and Will Grozis hit a free throw to cut the Bear lead to single digits.
Kooper Baker hit the Bears’ last 3-pointer of the first half. The Bears then fouled Haygan Dotson attempting a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Dotson made two charity tosses to set the score at 28-18.
Lead Hill started the third with seven straight points with Lemon getting five of those and May hitting the last points on a pass from Lemon.
The Tigers pulled within, 28-25, but that was as close as they could get the rest of the way.
Leading Ozark Mountain in scoring was Kooper Baker with 15 points. Dixon and Gilmore added 12 each, Fields 11 and Chaney five.
Lead Hill was led by Kaden Baker with 15 points. Lemon added 11, Petrovic five, May and Dotson four each and Turner and Grozis one apiece.
