Lonoke knocks off Carlisle in basketball

Lonoke's Amanda Sexton, left, battles for a loose ball with Carlisle's Kylie Warren and Kayla Golleher. (Photo by Mark Buffalo)

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

lonokecountysports@gmail.com

LONOKE — In a the "Battle of Highway 70," Lonoke swept Carlisle on Tuesday night at the Gina Cox Center.

Senior girls

The Lonoke Lady Jackrabbits (2-0) used a 13-0 run in the first half to help beat the Carlisle Lady Bison 62-31.

Lonoke led 3-0 after a three-pointer by Kerasha Johnson. Carlisle's Molli Weems hit 1 of 3 free throws before the Lady Jackrabbits scored the final 13 points of the first quarter to lead 16-1.

Carlisle (1-1) went on an 11-2 run to pull to within six at 18-12 with 2:38 left in the first half. 

Carlisle was hampered by foul trouble as starting guard Kylie Warren picked up her fourth foul with 2 minutes left in the first half. Lonoke led 27-14 at halftime.

Lonoke pushed its lead to 29-14 on a putback by Jarrelyn McCall early in the second half. Carlisle's Peyton Hitchings hit a short jumper to make the score 29-16. From there, Lonoke outscored Carlisle 15-12 to end the quarter. 

The Lady Jackrabbits scored the first 10 points of the fourth quarter. McCall scored 8 of those points.

McCall led Lonoke with 20 points. Amanda Sexton had 14. Callie Whitfield added 8. Johnson scored six. Ashlyn Allen had 5. Eboni Willis added 4. Riely Rowton and Kimistri Ballance has 3 points each.  

Elex McClain led Carlisle with 12 points. Weems had 7. Warren scored six. Scoring 2 each were Hitchings, Nikita Harper and Nicquira Burnett.

Lonoke's Isaac Toney drives past Carlisle's Lewis Bunch. (Photo by Mark Buffalo)

Senior boys

The new-look Lonoke Jackrabbits used a 13-0 run in the first quarter to help build a 24-13 halftime lead en route to a 58-27 win over the Carlisle Bison in the season opener for both teams.

Lonoke played in the Class 4A state championship game a year ago and lost their top six players to graduation. 

Carlisle took a 2-0 lead on a baseline jumper by Drake Adams. Lonoke's Nick Bates scored four in a row to start the run, which was highlighted by a breakaway dunk from Justin Meadows. Carlisle's Devon Kendrick broke the run with a layup late in the quarter.

Carlisle tried to keep it close but trailed 24-13 at halftime. The Jackrabbits scored the first 10 points of the second half to pull away from the Bison. They led 38-19 after three quarters. 

Jawaun Bryant led Lonoke with 9 points. Isaac Toney scored 8. Brenton Bryant had 7. Yancy Cooney scored 6. TaMarrae Moore had 5. Bates scored 4. Bryson Jackson, Tyler Spencer and Byron Fair scored 3 points each. Scoring two each were Meadows, Ryan Truelove and Kylan Branscomb.

Nick Schafer led Carlisle with 6 points. Scoring 4 each were Adams, Lewis Bunch, Cole Sheets and Kendrick. Zack Caviness had 3.  Bryden Weems had 2 points each.