2 Cherokee County teams go head to head in basketball action

The New Summerfield Hornets stung the Alto Yellowjackets, 70-62, in New Sumemerfield on Friday, Feb. 8.

Alto fell behind in the first quarter, 14-19, but outscored the Hornets, 12-11, in the second period for a halftime score of 26-30.

New Summerfield pulled away in the third, outscoring Alto 20-11 in the period for a 50-37 lead.

The Yellowjackets outpaced the Hornets in the final frame, 25-20, but not enough to take the victory.

Hornet Collin Wilkerson led the scoring for New Summerfield with 28 points, followed closely by Bryant Leon with 21 points.

Fifteen of Leon’s points came from three-pointers and he hit two of three free-throw attempts. Julio Parra sank nine points.

Elvis Mendoza dropped in two treys for six points. Juan Hernandez added four points and Jayce Fry, two.

‘Jacket Fred Thacker was lead scorer for Alto with 19 points. Marlon Warren dropped in 16 points.

Will Dixon sank nine while Sklyer Atkins added eight. Kurrinsai Jackson and Ki’Alo Deason each sank four points, while Pope added two. The Hornets hosted Cushing, Tuesday, Feb 5, losing to the Bearkats 71-47, before taking on Alto. New Summerfield was slated to visit Mt. Enterpirse to face the Wildcats Tuesday, Feb. 12, for their final district game.

Alto

Before facing New Summerfield, Alto hosted Douglass on Tuesday, Feb. 5, and were defeated, 55-40.

The Yellowjackets kept pace with Douglass in the first quarter, ending the period just a point behind, 11-12, though they fell behind by a margin of 3-13 in the second period bringing the halftime deficit to six, 19-25.

Alto outscored Douglass in the third quarter, 10-9, slightly narrowing the gap to a five-point lead, 29-34.

With under four minutes remaining in the game, the Yellowjackets drew to within three points of Douglass, 34-37, but Douglass hit 11 of 14 free throws down the stretch to pull away and secure the win.

Skyler Atkins was high scorer for Alto with 11 points, followed by Fred Thacker with nine. Jay Pope sank six points and Bubba Mumphrey dropped in five. Marlon Warren was good for four points while Will Dixon added three points and Kurrinsai Jackson, two.

The Yellowjackets were to host Cushing, Tuesday, Feb. 12, which was also scheduled as senior night. The team has two senior members, Fred Thacker and Bubba Mumphrey.

Lady ‘Jackets

The Alto Lady Jackets (3-16) traveled to Central Heights to take on the Timpson Bears (30-4) in a bi-district championship game. The Lady Jackets were eliminated from post-season play, 74-25.

Jacksonville

The Jacksonville Indians suffered two defeats last week.

The first game took place Tuesday, Feb. 5, against Pine Tree and resulted in a relatively close 64-57 loss.

The second game was against John Tyler, resulting in score of 67-49.

The Indians were set to visit Hallsville to play the Bobcats Tuesday, Feb. 12, for the final district game.

Jacksonville Maidens

The Jacksonville Maidens took on the Sulphur Springs Wildcats Monday, Feb. 11, at Winona High School and went away as the bi-district champions, winning the game, 57-46.

The first quarter ended in an 11-11 tie. The Maidens created a slight margin by the half, leading 26-23. The third period belonged to Jacksonville, outshooting the Wildcats 18-7 in the period and pulling ahead, 44-30. Sulphur Springs did outscore Jacksonville in the final frame, 16-13, but it wasn’t enough to overtake the Maidens.

The Jacksonville Maidens advance to the second round of post-season play. They will face the winner of the Mesquite Poteet versus Midlothian match which was to take place Tuesday, Jan. 12. The Area contest will likely take place Friday.

Rusk

Rusk Lady Eagles

The Rusk Lady Eagles, 10-8 for the season, were slated to play the Center Roughriders (8-12) at Nacogdoches High School Tuesday, Feb. 12. The winner of the match would be declared bi-district champs and advance to Area playoff against the winner of the Lorena versus Ferris match.

Troup
The Troup Tigers defeated the West Rusk Raiders, 52-22, on Tuesday, Feb. 5.

The Tigers took an early 16-11 first quarter lead. By holding the Raiders to a single point in the second period, Troup expanded their led 29-12 by the half. A more equal score of 7-6, in favor of Troup, still left Troup ahead at the end of the third frame, 36-19. With a 16-4 margin over West Rusk in the final quarter, Troup walked away with the victory.

Lead scorer for Troup was Weslee Ross with 14 points, including two three-pointers. He was followed by Quincy Kincade with 12 points, all coming from three-point shots. Kris Johnson added eight points. Desmon Deason, Kedrick Frazier and Grayson Driggs each sank five points and Blake Wood dropped in a trey.

The Tigers traveled to Arp Friday, Feb. 8, where they conquered the rival Tigers, 52-42.

Though first quarter scoring was low, Troup held the 7-4 lead. They widened the gap, 20-16, by halftime. Outscoring Arp 12-9 in the third period put Troup ahead, 32-25. With a 20-17 margin over Arp in the final frame, Troup secured the win.

Kincade was lead scorer in the game with 14 points, including three treys. Ross sank 11 points. Johnson and Driggs each dropped in seven points, including a trey for Driggs. Desmon Deason added two points to the team total.

The Tigers were scheduled to host Winona Monday, Feb. 11, for the final game of the season.

Lady Tigers

The Lady Tigers were slated to tipoff against the Tatum Eagles at Spring Hill High School Tuesday, Feb. 12, to determine bi-district champions. Victor will face the winner of the Atlanta versus Mt. Vernon match for Area championship.

Bullard

The Panthers suffered losses last week to the Kilgore Bulldogs, 55-15, and the Henderson Lions, 68-57. The Panthers took the first quarter lead by a single point, 12-11, but the Lions came back in the second to outscore Bullard, 22-9, for a 33-21 halftime lead. Both teams scored 14 points in the third period. Even though the Panthers outscored the Lions 22-21 in the final frame, it wasn’t enough to overcome Henderson’s second-period surge.

The Panthers were slated to host Gilmer Tuesday, Feb. 12, for the final game of the season.

Lady Panthers

The Bullard Lady Panthers finished the district schedule with an 11-1 record after losing their final game to Kilgore, 40-45.

The Lady Panthers were slated to tipoff against the North Lamar Panthers Tuesday, Feb. 12, to determine bi-district champion. The victor would advance, playing the winner of the bi-district game of Ford versus Brownsboro, to decide Area champion.