Bulldogs down Cabool, will face Redbirds in district semifinals

VAN BUREN — The fourth-seeded Van Buren Bulldogs defeated fifth-seeded Cabool 44-32 in a thrilling matchup in the first round of the Class 2 District 2 Tournament Monday night.

“We were excited to get on the court and grind it out.” said Van Buren’s Benjamin Hawkins. “The team was the reason we won. We kept each other up and we’re at a point in our season where we finally found our chemistry.”

After trailing 11-9 at the end of the opening period, the host Bulldogs outscored Cabool 13-7 in the second quarter to lead 22-16 at halftime

“The first half tried to get us down, but we did what we do best and went into the second half with a hard mentality.” said Van Buren head coach Jacob Black. “Cabool has a really good coach. He’s a veteran when it comes to basketball, and his son’s a really nice player. We had to make sure we contained him, and we did just that.”

The top scorers for Van Buren were Hawkins, Elijah VanWagner and Caleb Ricker with nine points apiece.

Cabool's Josh Shockley led the visitors with 13 points.

Van Buren faces top-seeded East Carter in the semifinals Wednesday.

C3D3

Clearwater 73, Kingston 64

At Leadwood, the sixth-seeded Clearwater Tigers got 31 points from Charles Robbins and 20 more from Keegan Gracey as they upset third-seeded Kingston 73-64 in the first round of the Class 3 District 3 boys basketball tournament Monday.

Monday's win also turned out to be a nice anniversary for head coach Zac Moore, which he called “a great gift from the team.”

“The kids played really hard,” said Clearwater coach Zac Moore. “It’s the second time this season that we as No. 6 seed upset a No. 3 seed. I’m really proud of our team effort and execution.”

Clearwater takes on second-seeded Jefferson in the district semifinals Wednesday at 7 p.m.

C2D1

Bernie 94, Hayti 71

At the Class 2 District 1 Tournament in Holcomb, the second-seeded Mules pull away in the second half to down the Indians.

Bernie led just 39-33 at halftime, but rode a strong second half into a semifinal matchup with Neelyville.

Michia Schooley led Bernie in scoring with a game-high 34 points followed by Hunter Corzine with 23 and Tristan Johnson with 16.

Kanye Jones’ 31 total points made him Hayti’s top gun. He was followed by Keion Hamilton with 16, Quintral Clay with 13 and Jeremiah Brown with seven.

Neelyville 53, Campbell 37

At Holcomb, the third-seeded Tigers powered past the Camels into the semifinals

Neelyville was led by Brock Davis with 18 points and Preston Goodnight with 11.

C2D3

Puxico 65, Meadow Heights 58

At the Class 2 District 3 Tournament in Bloomfield, the fourth-seeded Indians get past No. 5 Meadow Heights to earn a semifinal matchup with No. 1 Greenville.

“Landan Burchard and Jaydon Mitchell really stepped up in scoring and we got just enough stops to win,” said Puxico coach Bryant Fernetti.

Burchard led the Indians with 16 points, while Mitchell added 13.

C3D1

Caruthersville 73, Twin Rivers 56

At the Class 3 District 1 Tournament in Portageville, the second-seeded Tigers end the season for the No. 7 Royals.

Twin Rivers (14-12) was led by Jagger Crismon (23 points) and Colton Hargraves (18).

C1D1

Clarkton 49, Southland 43

At the Class 1 District 1 Tournament in Gideon, the third-seeded Reindeer get past No. 6 Southland.

The only real quote to say is survive and advance,” said Clarkton coach Cole McBroom. “Effort wasn’t there and neither was energy.”

The Reindeer were led by James Johnson with 16 points, while Owen Morgan and Bryant Redden each had 11.

Clarkton plays Wednesday in the semifinals against second-seeded Risco.

REGULAR SEASON

Doniphan 57, Kennett 55

At Doniphan, the host Dons edge Kennett for a late-season win

“Kennett came out with a lot of pressure and we looked as though we weren’t ready in the first few minutes, but we started being more aggressive and scoring,” said Doniphan coach Daniel Cagle. “We started our defense off bad and couldn’t guard the ball, but we zone pressed early in the first quarter and stayed in it the rest of the game. I thought we did good in that and held a good Kennett team to 55.”

The Dons were led by Emmitt Jones (14 points), Max Owen (12) and JD Burton (11).

GIRLS

Jackson 51, Dexter 31

At Jackson, the Lady Bearcats fall to the host Lady Indians.

“We struggled offensively tonight,” said Dexter coach Eric Sitze.

Dexter was led by Kate Nichols with 13 points.

Christian Johnson of the Delta Dunklin Democrat provided information for this story.