Area basketball roundup

3 teams compete in Great ET Shootout

The Bullard, Jacksonville and Rusk varsity girls’ basketball teams all participated in the Great East Texas Shootout hosted by Brownsboro Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 12-14.

Bullard’s Lady Panthers defeated the Rusk Lady Eagles in the opening game of the tournament, by a score of 47-34.

The Lady Panthers then fell to Mineola, 41-31.

Bullard’s girls earned a 46-28 win over John Tyler before dropping their final game, 51-45, against Sunnyvale.

The Lady Panthers now carry a 17-4 overall record.

The team was to host Henderson Tuesday, Dec. 17, to open district play and will travel to Gilmer Friday, Dec. 20. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

The Jacksonville Maidens started tournament play with a win over Van, 56-45.

The Maidens lost their next two games by a mere two points each, first to Mineola, 55-53, and then to Chapel Hill, 39-37.

The Maidens were scheduled to visit John Tyler Tuesday, Dec. 17, and will host Hallsville Friday, Dec. 20.

All teams will play with the first game set to begin at 2 p.m.

The Rusk Lady Eagles fell to Bullard in their first game of the tournament, 47-34.

They dropped their second game to Van, 59-47. The final game of the tournament ended in a single point loss to Kerens, 61-60.

The Lady Eagles have open dates through the week of Dec. 16-20.

The team will not play again until Saturday, Dec. 28, at the Shepard tournament.

Alto defeats Beckville at Gary tourney

Alto defeated Beckville, 63-52, Tuesday, Dec. 10.

High scorer for the game was Jay Pope with 22 points, followed by Skyler Atkins with 19.

Kurrin Sai Jackson dropped in 10 points, Kevin Blanton sank five and Jackson Duplichain added four. Keithen Jenkins put up two points and Tra’Rell Dansby added one.

The Yellowjackets participated in the Gary Tournament Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 12-14. They lost the opening game to West Rusk, 65-58.

Pope was top scorer again with 18 points.

Atkins sank 10 points while Jackson and Duplichain dropped in nine points each. Blanton added seven points and Jenkins, five.

The next opponent in the tournament was Broaddus, the 13th ranked 2A team, who defeated Alto, 63-46. Pope sank 14 points and Jackson dropped in 12.

Duplichain pitched in seven while Blanton and Jenkins tallied five apiece. Atkins added three points.

The game against Big Sandy, the 18th-ranked 2A team, was dropped 74-41. Pope and Atkins sank 11 points each. Jackson dropped in nine. Taylor Bowman added six an Jenkins, four.

Alto earned a win in the final game of the tournament, scoring 51 points to Beckville’s 46. Atkins was top scorer with 17 points, followed by Pope with 12. Jenkins tallied eight points and Jackson dropped in six. Blanton sank three points. Israel Salinas and Bowman added two points each and Dansby added one.

The Jackets were to visit Frankston Tuesday, Dec. 17, and will participate in the Huntington tournament Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 19-21.

Bullard plays in Frankston Tourney

The Bullard Panthers participated in the Frankston tournament, earning a 2-3 record. The first game was lost to Neches, 51-35. The second game, played against Elkhart, also resulted in a loss, 69-55. The Panthers picked up a win against Tyler Heat, 69-53, followed by a win over Cross Roads, 54-47. The final game of the tournament was against Tyler Heat who defeated Bullard by a close 57-53 score.

The Bullard Panthers carry a 6-9 overall record.

Bullard was to visit Rusk Tuesday, Dec. 17, and will travel to Big Sandy Friday, Dec. 20, with a start time to be announced.

Jacksonville goes 3-1 in Central Heights tournament

The Jacksonville Indians defeated Bridge City, 56-50, in their first match at the Central Heights tournament. Vito High was high scorer with 21 points, including four from three-point territory.

Desmond Fuller dropped in 13 points. Jonathan Denman sank nine points. Duke Rogers added seven and Devin McCuin, six.

The second game was against the host team Central Heights and resulted in another Indian win, 76-53. Lead scorer for Jacksonville was Denman with 17 points, including four three-point shots. He was followed by High with 16 points. Fuller sank 14 points and JaModrick Sherfield, 11. Keion Redd put in seven points while McCuin and Kameron Conwell added five points each. Jahbari Johnson sank a shot from the charity stripe, adding one point to the team total.

Jacksonville garnered a third victory when they played West Sabine, walking away with a 57-26 win. McCuin led the scoring with 20 points, followed by Fuller with 18. High sank 11 points. Johnson added three; Denman and Conwell, two each; and Redd, one.

The final game, against Brock, was the only tournament loss for the Indians, 67-60. With 33 points, High single-handedly earned over half the team’s score. Fuller sank seven points. Redd, Denman and Amad Juan Menefee dropped in five points each. McCuin added three points and Conwell, two.

The Indians were slated to play at Kilgore Tuesday, Dec. 17, and will travel to Athens Friday, Dec. 20. All teams will be playing with the first tip-off scheduled for 5 p.m.

Rusk Eagles enter Eustace Tournament

The Rusk Eagles traveled to Slocum Tuesday, Dec. 9, where they lost by four points, 57-53.

Travion Harris was leading scorer with 24 points. He also recorded five rebounds. Jay’Kwon Simms sank 18 points and posted five steals. Isiah Ward added seven points, garnering five rebounds and five steals.

The Eagles entered the Eustace Tournament, finishing with a 1-2 record. The win came against Kemp, 63-21. With 21 points, Harris was again high scorer. Ward had 13 points in the game.

The loss to DasCHE was by only three points, 83-80. Ward scored 28 points and posted six assists. Ward hit seven out of nine three-point attempts for 21 points and a 78 percent three-point percentage. Kavestion Tilley dropped in 15 points and had 10 rebounds for a double double.

The silver bracket championship game against Edgewood resulted in an Eagle loss, 64-54. Ward sank 17 points, gained nine rebounds and recorded five assists. Marco Torres sank 13 points.

The Eagles were scheduled to host Bullard Tuesday, Dec. 17, and will host Frankston Friday, Dec. 20, with games to be played at 4:30 and 5:30 p.m.

Troup Tigers earn runner-up status in tournament

The Troup Tigers hosted Overton Tuesday, Dec. 10, defeating the Mustangs 59-19. Clayton Vickers and Kedrick Frazier each sank 12 points while Bracey Cover and Grayson Driggs dropped in 10 points apiece. Easton Haugeberg knocked in seven points. Blake Wood added five and Matthew Castillo, three.

Troup hit five treys, two each from Cover and Driggs and one from Castillo, compared to Overton’s three.

The junior varsity team also topped Overton, 40-11.

The varsity Tigers participated in the Frankston Tournament, finishing as runners-up.

Troup first took on the Cross Roads Bobcats, defeating them 65-27. Lead scorer was Driggs with 21 points, including three treys. Cover and Wood dropped in 11 points each, including one three-pointer apiece. Frazier was good for nine points. Vickers sank five and Castillo, four. Logan Womack and Haugeberg added two apiece.

The second game resulted in a Tiger loss to Grapeland, 63-51. Driggs led the scoring with 17 points. Womack sank nine; Cover, eight, Frazier six and Vickers, five. Wood added three points, Castillo, two and Haugeberg, one.

The Tigers bounced back with a win over Frankston, 28-19. Driggs was top scorer with eight points. Cover and Frazier sank six points each. Castillo and Womack dropped in three points apiece and Vickers added two.

In semi-final play, Troup defeated Elkhart 47-42. Driggs was top scorer with 20 points, including six three-point shots. He was followed by Cover with 11 points, including three treys. Frazier added seven points, including a three-pointer. Castillo, Womack and Wood dropped in a trey apiece.

The Tigers again faced Grapeland in the championship game, dropping the game 69-44, resulting in their runner-up status. Driggs led the team with 16 points, including two treys. Wood added nine points. Frazier dropped in eight points, including a three-pointer. Cover added six points, including a three-point shot. Womack dropped in a three-pointer and Castillo added two points.

Members of the Troup Tigers basketball team named All Tournament were Grayson Driggs and Matthew Castillo.

Troup was slated to host Latexo Tuesday, Dec. 17, and will participate in the Union Grove Tournament Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 19-21.

Wells defeats Joaquin, 59-48

The Wells Pirates defeated the Joaquin Rams, 59-48. Top scorer for Wells was Cole Turner with a double double, 26 points and 12 rebounds. Cameron Dusek also recorded a double double with 20 points and 17 rebounds. Trace Selman sank 12 points in the game and Davion Stone added one.

The Pirates were to host Oakwood Tuesday, Dec. 17, and will host Brookeland Friday, Dec. 20.