The Tuckerman Bulldogs’ vaunted full-court press led to numerous first quarter turnovers by Cross County and an early first quarter lead for the Kell Classic’s host team en route to a 63-43 victory over the Thunderbirds.
The 20-point victory pushed the seventh-seeded Bulldogs into a quarter-final contest with Ridgefield Christian, the tournament’s two-seed, tonight at 5:15 p.m.
Tuckerman led by six, 23-17, before stretching their lead to 12, 37-25, at halftime.
The third quarter saw the Thunderbirds outscore Tuckerman 12-8 to cut the Bulldog lead to eight, 45-37, as the game moved into the final frame.
The Bulldogs spread the floor offensively and ran their passing game to near perfection as Tuckerman ran away with the fourth quarter 18-6 for the final margin.
Justin Watkins led Tuckerman with 22 points while senior Jake Hitt added 15.
Tuckerman’s 20-point victory was the second largest of the boy’s first round and sets up tonight’s showdown with Ridgefield.
Their victory came immediately upon the heels of the Lady Bulldogs heart-breaking 41-39 loss to the tournament’s fifth-seed, Izard County Consolidated.
The two-point loss for the Lady Bulldogs has been the closest contest of the tournament so far as Tuckerman let a late lead escape as the Lady Cougars took the lead, 41-39, with 18.1 seconds remaining and the hosts missed three opportunities in the final 11 seconds to bow out.
Izard County opened the tournament with three first quarter three-pointers to build a 14-7 advantage after the game’s first eight minutes.
However, the Lady Bulldogs used an 8-0 run over the first 4:15 of the second quarter to take a 15-14 lead before Izard County connected on two free throws - their only points of the quarter - to regain the lead 16-15.
A five-point run by Tuckerman closed out the half to give the Lady Bulldogs a 20-16 lead at intermission.
In the second half, Tuckerman stretched their lead to eight, 30-22, at the end of the third quarter highlighted by Hannah Kagen’s three-pointer at the buzzer.
Unfortunately, the Lady Bulldogs would score only nine points in the fourth quarter as the Lady Cougars outscored them 19-9 in the final frame for a 41-39 victory.
Katie Dolezal broke a 37-37 tie with one free throw at 1:51 remaining but the Lady Cougars beat Tuckerman down the floor for a short six-foot jumper to regain the lead 39-38.
Kagen’s free throw knotted the game at 39-39 but the fifth foul on senior Amanda McGhee with 18.1 seconds remaining sent the Lady Cougars to the free throw line where they sank them both for the 41-39 advantage.
Tuckerman was not without opportunities but three scoring chances escaped them as they ended their 2010 Kell Classic appearance with a near-upset.
McGhee led Tuckerman with 12 points while junior Amanda Kendrick added 11 for the Lady Bulldogs.
In other tournament action on the girls side: Hoxie’s Lady Mustangs were the only lower seeded team to pull off a first round victory as the nine-seed knocked off eighth-seeded Southside 47-31; Corning toppled Crowley’s Ridge Academy 59-40; Valley View upended Cross County 51-9; Trumann dropped Weiner 68-35; Bay defeated Twin Rivers 65-35; and Westside beat Maynard 59-52.
In boys action: Southside knocked off Maynard 57-52; Highland defeated Corning 59-45; Hoxie upended Crowley’s Ridge Academy 71-54; Weiner pounded Twin Rivers 66-37; and Trumann defeated Izard County Consolidated 76-59 to close out the first round. Bay ended Southside’s tournament with a 49-46 quarter-final victory Monday night to advance to the semis.
The rest of the quarter-finals pits Highland against Hoxie and Weiner will take on Trumann in boys action.
The top-seed Highland will take on Hoxie, Corning will battle Izard County, Valley View and Trumann will square off and Bay and Westside will complete the girls quarter-finals.
The semi-finals will begin Friday, Jan. 8 at 4 p.m. while the championship games will take place Saturday beginning at 6 p.m.
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The Tuckerman Bulldogs’ vaunted full-court press led to numerous first quarter turnovers by Cross County and an early first quarter lead for the Kell Classic’s host team en route to a 63-43 victory over the Thunderbirds.
The 20-point victory pushed the seventh-seeded Bulldogs into a quarter-final contest with Ridgefield Christian, the tournament’s two-seed, tonight at 5:15 p.m.
Tuckerman led by six, 23-17, before stretching their lead to 12, 37-25, at halftime.
The third quarter saw the Thunderbirds outscore Tuckerman 12-8 to cut the Bulldog lead to eight, 45-37, as the game moved into the final frame.
The Bulldogs spread the floor offensively and ran their passing game to near perfection as Tuckerman ran away with the fourth quarter 18-6 for the final margin.
Justin Watkins led Tuckerman with 22 points while senior Jake Hitt added 15.
Tuckerman’s 20-point victory was the second largest of the boy’s first round and sets up tonight’s showdown with Ridgefield.
Their victory came immediately upon the heels of the Lady Bulldogs heart-breaking 41-39 loss to the tournament’s fifth-seed, Izard County Consolidated.
The two-point loss for the Lady Bulldogs has been the closest contest of the tournament so far as Tuckerman let a late lead escape as the Lady Cougars took the lead, 41-39, with 18.1 seconds remaining and the hosts missed three opportunities in the final 11 seconds to bow out.
Izard County opened the tournament with three first quarter three-pointers to build a 14-7 advantage after the game’s first eight minutes.
However, the Lady Bulldogs used an 8-0 run over the first 4:15 of the second quarter to take a 15-14 lead before Izard County connected on two free throws - their only points of the quarter - to regain the lead 16-15.
A five-point run by Tuckerman closed out the half to give the Lady Bulldogs a 20-16 lead at intermission.
In the second half, Tuckerman stretched their lead to eight, 30-22, at the end of the third quarter highlighted by Hannah Kagen’s three-pointer at the buzzer.
Unfortunately, the Lady Bulldogs would score only nine points in the fourth quarter as the Lady Cougars outscored them 19-9 in the final frame for a 41-39 victory.
Katie Dolezal broke a 37-37 tie with one free throw at 1:51 remaining but the Lady Cougars beat Tuckerman down the floor for a short six-foot jumper to regain the lead 39-38.
Kagen’s free throw knotted the game at 39-39 but the fifth foul on senior Amanda McGhee with 18.1 seconds remaining sent the Lady Cougars to the free throw line where they sank them both for the 41-39 advantage.
Tuckerman was not without opportunities but three scoring chances escaped them as they ended their 2010 Kell Classic appearance with a near-upset.
McGhee led Tuckerman with 12 points while junior Amanda Kendrick added 11 for the Lady Bulldogs.
In other tournament action on the girls side: Hoxie’s Lady Mustangs were the only lower seeded team to pull off a first round victory as the nine-seed knocked off eighth-seeded Southside 47-31; Corning toppled Crowley’s Ridge Academy 59-40; Valley View upended Cross County 51-9; Trumann dropped Weiner 68-35; Bay defeated Twin Rivers 65-35; and Westside beat Maynard 59-52.
In boys action: Southside knocked off Maynard 57-52; Highland defeated Corning 59-45; Hoxie upended Crowley’s Ridge Academy 71-54; Weiner pounded Twin Rivers 66-37; and Trumann defeated Izard County Consolidated 76-59 to close out the first round. Bay ended Southside’s tournament with a 49-46 quarter-final victory Monday night to advance to the semis.
The rest of the quarter-finals pits Highland against Hoxie and Weiner will take on Trumann in boys action.
The top-seed Highland will take on Hoxie, Corning will battle Izard County, Valley View and Trumann will square off and Bay and Westside will complete the girls quarter-finals.
The semi-finals will begin Friday, Jan. 8 at 4 p.m. while the championship games will take place Saturday beginning at 6 p.m.
