Eagles upset by Carthage, Lady Eagles drop heartbreaker
Eagles fall short against Central
BY LELAND ACKER

Parents and coaches honored the Senior players of the Rusk Lady Eagles. Sheena Henderson (10), Rachel Hicks (20) and Amanda Session (23) will graduate in May. The Lady Eagles dropped the final game of their season to Carthage by a score of 40-34.

When teams become mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, they often fade away easily. Such was not the case Friday, though the Rusk Eagles fell to the Central Bulldogs 74- 61 in Pollock.

The Bulldogs jumped on the Eagles early, going up 22-9 in the 1st quarter, then extending their lead to 18 at halftime. The Eagles came soaring back in the 2nd half to cut the lead to four points before a series of turnovers sank their destiny.

"Our kids are still playing hard and I'm very proud of them," said Head Coach Tracy Kincade. "Central had Senior Night, and they are graduating nine of their 11 players. The future looks bright and I'm just glad to be an Eagle."

J.J. Session had an outstanding night with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Eddie Harris offered support with 12 points and four rebounds.

Eagles upended by Carthage

Demarcus Skinner (11) shoots a three-pointer during last Tuesday's game against Carthage. Skinner sank three three-pointers, and was one-for-two from the free-throw line en route to scoring 10 points on the evening.

"Bombs-away" was the theme as the Eagles lost to the Carthage Bulldogs 77-72 in overtime at Eagle Gymnasium Tuesday, despite sinking nine three-pointers.

The Eagles opened the game with a 12-2 run, and appeared to be in control of the game with a 21-9 lead at the end of the 1st quarter.

Carthage seemed to be off their game by missing several three-pointers and post Dustin Skillern missing three attempts at dunking the basketball.

Bobby McDuff kept the ball rolling for the Eagles in the 2nd quarter by sinking a threepointer, but then the Bulldog offense found its groove.

Late in the 2nd quarter, the Bulldogs sank three consecutive three-pointers to outscore the Eagles 20-15, and cut the halftime lead to 7.

The Bulldogs kept chiseling away at the Eagle lead, cutting it to three points at the end of the 3rd quarter, and tying the game 64-64 in the 4th quarter to force the overtime.

Once in overtime, the Bulldogs took the lead and kept it, winning 77-72.

Three-pointers were the story in this game, as Brent Jones earned top-scorer honors by sinking three of them. Jones had 16 points on the evening.

Demarcus Skinner sank three three-pointers and had 10 points on the evening. Also scoring double digits was Session, who scored 11. John David Beard scored two threepointers for six points on the evening.

Coach Kincade showed optimism for next year, noting that he is only losing two players to graduation (Harris and Jones), while the powerhouse teams in District 20-AAA will be hit hard by graduation.

Lady Eagles celebrate Senior

Night against Carthage

The Lady Eagles put together a final scoring drive in the 4th quarter to come back against the Carthage Lady Bulldogs, but that bid fell short by 6 points as Carthage won 40-34.

The pregame festivities included recognizing the senior Lady Eagles. Sheena Henderson, Rachel Hicks and Amanda Session all concluded their high school basketball careers during the Carthage game, as the season drew to a close. After the ceremony, Henderson recognized Coach Patsy Whitaker for her coaching efforts throughout the season.

During the game, Carthage took the lead early, and held on to it most of the game. The Lady Bulldogs put together a 7-0 in the 2nd quarter to go ahead 20-10 at halftime.

The 2nd half was a defensive struggle, with three minutes of the 3rd quarter passing without a score by either team. Then Cambry Blakemore scored six points in the 4th quarter to spark a Lady Eagle scoring drive in the last 1:30. The Lady Eagles fell short 40-34.

Session was the lead scorer with 10 points, Blakemore and Le'Asha O'Neal both had six points on the evening. CARTHAGE AT RUSK

Boys Varsity, Feb. 6
Carthage   9     20     21   14   13   77
Rusk     21     15     17     11   8   72
SCORING- Rusk: Brent Jones 16, J.J. Session 11, Demarcus Skinner 10, Chance Cleaver 8, Horrace Lewis 8, Eddie Harris 6, John David Beard 6, John Michael Jackson 4, Bobby McDuff 3. Carthage: Tavarius Allison 25, Marcus Bowman 20, Richard Lyles 12, J.D. Hicks 8, Dustin Skillern 2, Clarence Graves 2, Byron Kirkling 2. FREE THROWS- Rusk: Session 3-4, Jones 3-6, Skinner 1-2, Cleaver 0-4, Lewis 0-4. Carthage: Bowman 6-8, Allison 6-9, Lyles 1-4, Hicks 0-2. THREE-POINTERS- Rusk: Skinner 3, Jones 3, Beard 2, McDuff 1. Carthage: Bowman 4, Allison 3, Hicks 2, Lyles 1. Girls Varsity, Feb. 6
Carthage 11       9     14     6   --   40
Rusk       6       4     6   18   --   34
SCORING- Rusk: Amanda Session 10, Cambry Blakemore 6, Le'Asha O'Neal 6, Sheena Henderson 4, Charnell Franklin 4, Courtney Foreman 2. RUSK AT CENTRAL Boys Varsity, Feb. 9
Rusk       9     14     19   19   --   61
Central   22     19     10   23   --   74
SCORING- Rusk: J.J. Session 18, Eddie Harris 12, Demarcus Skinner 9, Horrace Lewis 7, Brent Jones 5, Bobby McDuff 5, Chance Cleaver 4, John David Beard 3. Central: Kyle Cook 19, Treylyn Smith 16, Jacobi Bias 13, Chris Tapia 11, Chris Hicks 8, Kaylan Saltzman 4, Wesley Johnson 2, Justin Williams 1.