Rabbits, Lady Rabbits win opener of Goldfish Classic

LONOKE — The Lonoke Jackrabbits and Lady Jackrabbits were both victorious in the first round of the second-annual Goldfish Classic on Saturday at the Gina Cox Center. 

Jackrabbits 60, Hazen 48

The Lonoke Jackrabbits shook off a slow start to beat the Hazen Hornets 60-48 in a first round game.

Hazen led 11-3 after one quarter. Lonoke got some offense going in the second quarter, outscoring the Hornets 24-18 to trail 29-21 at halftime. 

Lonoke outscored Hazen 17-10 in the third quarter and 19-9 in the fourth quarter. The highlight of the game was a posterizing dunk by Justin Meadows in the fourth quarter.

Jawaun Bryant led Lonoke with 17 points. Meadows had 11. Isaac Toney scored 10. Yancy Cooney scored 8. Bryson Jackson had 6. Tyler Spencer added 5. Haven Hunter had 2 while Brenton Bryant added a free throw.

Lonoke will play Stuttgart in the semifinals on Monday at 7:20 p.m.

Lonoke's Tashalla Gomillion rights for a rebound. (Photo by Mark Buffalo)

Lady Rabbits 58, Hazen 15

The Lonoke Lady Jackrabbits outscored Hazen 14-2 in the first quarter, en route to a 58-15 win.

Lonoke led 33-7 at halftime. 

Eboni Willis led Lonoke with 19 points. Kerasha Johnson and Ashlyn Allen had 9 points each. Jarrelyn McCall scored 8. Riely Rowton had 7. Amanda Sexton scored six. Kimistri Balance had 2.

Lonoke will play Stuttgart in the semifinals Monday at 6 p.m.

Bison, Lady Bison fall in first round of Goldfish Classic

Carlisle coach Jonathan Buffalo talks to his team during their recent win over Hazen. (Photo by Kym Warren)

LONOKE — The Carlisle Bison and Lady Bison both fell in the first round of the Gold Fish Classic on Saturday at the Gina Cox Center. 

E-Stem 61, Lady Bison 44

The E-Stem Lady Mets held off Carlisle for a 61-44 win. 

Carlisle will play Des Arc in the consolation round Monday at 12:40 p.m.

Carlisle got off to a slow start, trailing 12-6 after one quarter. The Lady Bison kept it close, staying within 6 points until a late run in the quarter by E-Stem, which led 31-18 at halftime. 

Each team scored 12 points in the third quarter. The Lady Mets outscored Carlisle 18-14 in the fourth quarter. 

Kylie Warren led Carlisle with 24 points. Molli Weems and Elex McClain had 6 points each. Nicquira Burnett had 5. Peyton Hitchings added a three-pointer. 

Gia Hayes led E-Stem with 22 points. 

Carlisle's Brynden Weems shoots for 2 against Watson Chapel on Saturday at the Goldfish Classic. (Photo by Mark Buffalo)

Watson Chapel 86, Bison 22

The Carlisle Bison ran into a buzz saw in Class 5A Watson Chapel in an 86-22 loss to the Wildcats.

Nick Schafer and Brynden Weems led Carlisle with 6 points each. Cole Sheets added 4. Devon Kendrick, Lewis Bunch and Gray Amaden has 2 points each.

Carlisle will play Bald Knob on Monday at 2 p.m. in the consolation round. 

Lady Rabbits bounce back, beat North Pulaski

Lonoke's Riely Rowton drives to the basket against Southside Batesville. She scored 10 points against North Pulaski on Friday. (Photo by Mark Buffalo)

LONOKE — The Lonoke Lady Jackrabbits bounced back from a tough conference loss to Riverview by beating North Pulaski 65-37 on Friday at the Gina Cox Center.

Lonoke is now 7-4 overall. 

The Lady Jackrabbits got off to a quick start, leading 16-3 after one quarter. Riely Rowton and Kerasha Johnson had 5 points each in the first quarter. Jarrelyn McCall, Amanda Sexton and Eboni Willis had 2 points each.

North Pulaski outscored Lonoke 14-13 in the second quarter but Lonoke outscored the Lady Falcons 36-20 in the second half. 

Willis led Lonoke with 13 points. McCall had 12. Rowton scored 10. Johnson had 9. Kimistri Balance and Sexton had 5 each. Ashlyn Allen had 4. Callie Whitfield added 2. 

Lonoke hosts Goldfish Classic

Lonoke High School is hosting the second-annual Gold Fish Classic, which starts Saturday at the Gina Cox Center. 

The tournament continues Monday and Tuesday.

First-round girls games include: Bald Knob-Stuttgart at 11 a.m.; Carlisle-E-stem at 1:40 p.m.; England-Des Arc at 4:20 p.m.; and Lonoke-Hazen at 7 p.m.

First-round boys games are: Des Arc-Stuttgart at 12:20 p.m.; Carlisle-Watson Chapel at 3 p.m.; England-Bald Knob at 5:40 p.m.; and Lonoke-Hazen at 8:20 p.m.

Boys Bracket

Girls Bracket

Carlisle splits 2 games with Hazen

Carlisle's Kylie Warren drives to the basket against Hazen. (Photo by Kym Warren)

Lady Bison rout Lady Hornets

HAZEN — The Carlisle Lady Bison improved to 7-3 overall and 6-0 in the 2A-6 conference with a 54-33 win over Hazen on Friday night.

Carlisle led 15-6 after one quarter. Kylie Warren scored 9 first-quarter points. Molli Weems had 4 while Elex McClain had 2.

Carlisle then outscored the Lady Hornets 18-4 in the second quarter to lead 33-10 at halftime. Warren added 10 points. McClain had 6 while Nikita Harper had 2.

Hazen outscored Carlisle 23-21 in the second half but it wasn't enough to dig out of the hole. 

Warren led Carlisle with 27 points. McClain had 13. Scoring 4 each were Harper and Weems. Peyton Hitchings, Nicquira Burnett and Ashby Terry had 2 points each.

Carlisle will play E-Stem in the first round of the Goldfish Classic at the Gina Cox Center in Lonoke on Saturday at 1:40 p.m. 

Carlisle's Devon Kendrick attempts a layup against Des Arc. (Photo by Mark Buffalo)

Bison play hard but come up short

HAZEN — The Carlisle Bison gave the Hazen Hornets all they wanted but came up short in a  59-53 loss. 

Hazen lead 16-14 after one quarter. Carlisle's Devon Kendrick scored 5 points in the first quarter. Nick Schafer had 3. Dominic Castleberry, Zach Caviness and Drake Adams has 2 points reach. 

The Bison rallied to tie the game at 29-29 at halftime. 

Each team scored 11 points in the third quarter; Hazen outscored the Bison 19-13 in the fourth quarter to get the win. 

Schafer led the Bison with 21 points. Kendrick has 10. Cole Sheets had 6. Castleberry and Adams had 5 points each. Brynden Weems had 4. Caviness had 2. 

The Bison will play Watson Chapel in the first round of the Goldfish Classic at the Gina Cox Center in Lonoke on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Lady Bison stay perfect in 2A-6 play

Carlisle's Elex McClain shoots for 2 of her 17 points against Des Arc on Monday. (Photo by Mark Buffalo)

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

lonokecountysports@gmail.com

CARLISLE — The Carlisle Lady Bison stayed perfect in 2A-6 play with a hard-fought 50-40 win over the Des Arc Lady Eagles on Monday night at Bison Arena.

Carlisle is now 5-0 in 2A-6 play and 6-3 overall. 

The game did not get off to a good start as Des Arc 6-2 and 23-15 with 3:42 left in the first half. 

The Lady Bison then scored the final 11 points of the half to lead 26-23 at halftime. Elex McClain started the run with a field goal. Kylie Warren then scored five in a row before McClain hit another field goal. Warren scored two more points during the run. 

The run continued in the second half with McClain scoring early to give the Lady Bison a 28-23 lead.

Carlisle outscored Des Arc 10-8 in the third quarter to lead 36-31 heading into the fourth quarter. 

Des Arc made a run and pulled to within two at 40-38 with 3:48 left in the game. Carlisle responded with a 7-0 run to lead 47-38 with 35.9 seconds left. Peyton Hitchings hit three free throws. McClain and Warren each scored two points during the run. 

Warren led all scorers with 24 points. McClain had 17. Hitchings had 5. Molli Weems and Nicquira Burnett had 2 points each.

Jade Bell and Natalie Reidher had 9 points each to lead the Lady Eagles.

Carlisle's Ashby Terry drives to the baseline against Des Arc. 

Bison end drought with win over Des Arc

Carlisle's Nick Schafer (13) shoots for 2 against Des Arc. Also pictured for Carlisle is Gray Amaden. (Photos by Mark Buffalo)

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

lonokecountysports@gmail.com

CARLISLE — For the first time since the 2012-13 season, the Carlisle Bison basketball team was victorious on the court.

Carlisle never trailed in beating the Des Arc Eagles 48-37 on Monday night at Bison Arena. 

The win was Carlisle's first since beating Palestine-Wheatley 86-60 in the quarterfinal round of the 2A-6 District Tournament at Hughes on Feb. 11, 2013. The Bison received a forfeit win over Brinkley last season. 

Carlisle scored the game's first six points, including four by Brynden Weems. The Eagles cut the deficit to 6-3 before the Bison scored the next seven points, including a 3-pointer by Devon Kendrick at the first-quarter buzzer to give the Bison a 13-3 lead.

Carlisle pushed its lead to 17-3 on four free throws by Nick Schafer early in the second quarter. Des Arc made a late run and trailed 22-13 at halftime and 22-15 early in the second half following a basket by Jacob Adams.

The Bison responded with a 7-0 run to lead 29-16 with 4:24 left in the third quarter. Schafer and Cole Sheets each scored two points while Kendrick hit a 3-pointer.

Carlisle's largest lead was 18 points at 39-21 and 41-23. The Eagles went on a 7-0 run to pull to within 11 at 41-30 with 3:50 left. The closest that Des Arc would get is 10 points at 47-37 with 25 seconds left. Kendrick set the final margin by hitting 1 of 2 foul shots with 21.3 seconds left.

First-year Carlisle coach Chris Houser was proud of his team for the win. 

"We weren't used to playing with a lead in the fourth quarter at all," he said. "They started to press us and we had to handle that. It was a hard-fought win, for sure."

Schafer led the Bison with 14 points. Kendrick had 11. Weems scored 8. Sheets had 7. Lewis Bunch and Drake Adams had 3 points each. Gray Amaden added 2 points. 

Colt Covington led Des Arc with 14 points. 

Carlisle's Brynden Weems looks to pass against Des Arc.