Guest Ozen Posted February 28, 2007 Report Posted February 28, 2007 Tatum moves on to regional tourneyBy JIMMY ISAACWednesday, February 28, 2007LINDALE — Few teams can shoot under 40 percent as consistently as Tatum and reach four regional tournaments in six years.The Eagles did it again Tuesday, rallying back from a 10-point deficit to win 53-50 over Malakoff in a 2A regional quarterfinal at Lindale High School.It took two Darnius Moore dunks on his own steals to seal it for Tatum (24-12), which will meet East Chambers in at 5 p.m. Friday at Wagstaff Gymnasium on the campus of Tyler Junior College.The fourth quarter saw two ties and four lead changes, the last coming when Moore tapped away a long Malakoff pass to himself and dunked with 54 seconds remaining to give Tatum a 51-50 lead.Malakoff missed three shooting chances in the lane on its next trip. Tatum's Harrison Hartt missed an ensuing foul shot, got his own rebound and moved his pivot foot with 30.2 ticks left. But that turnover gave way to another, when Moore picked an inbounds pass away from Steven Ramsour and dunked again for a 53-50 advantage with six seconds left.Malakoff's Jamel Garrett heaved the inbounds deep, and Tatum's Cashas Pollard tipped the throw out of bounds. However, Gary Benton with the Waco chapter of officials gave the ball to Tatum with 2.1 seconds on the clock. A Malakoff player objected, but Benton shrugged his shoulders.Tatum then threw the inbounds away, giving Malakoff one last shot under its own goal. Coby Dawson fumbled the inbounds behind the basket, controlled it and got off a 22-foot shot before the buzzer, only to watch the ball bank off the side of the rim."In the fourth quarter, Tatum created the breaks with the easy shots," Malakoff coach DeArtis Nickerson said. "I knew they would be physical. Our kids played hard, but down the stretch, we made too many crucial mistakes. In a big game like this, you can't do that."Malakoff ends its season at 20-10.Head coach Brett Carr, who has led Tatum to its last three regional tournaments in his five seasons there, credited Moore's late-game heroics and Harrison Hartt's composure."What you saw (Malakoff) do tonight is what they've done all year," Carr said. "I think (Moore) rose to the top at the end when he came up with the big steals."Tatum trailed 18-8 early in the second quarter and 30-25 at halftime after hitting just 7 of 22 shots in the first half and suffering 12 turnovers. But the Eagles used a 15-4 scoring run in the third quarter and 12 forced turnovers from Malakoff in the second half to set up the late-game drama."I think, for five years, we've known the kind of kids we've had. Even when we have a good shooter, we don't know what kind of night he's going to have," Carr said. "We've tried to sell them on defense."Hartt led Tatum with 11 points, including three 3-pointers, while Moore added 10 points.Damien Givens led all scorers with 19 points for the Tigers.Arp Trio Powers Tigers By Indians By SHANE STARKStaff WriterIn crunch time, clutch players step up.With a berth in the regional semifinals on the line, Arp's Sedrick Johnson, Corey Walker and senior Zack Spears did exactly that.On Tuesday night, the trio combined for 39 points in the second half as the defending state champs pulled away from Frankston, 76-64, in a Class 2A Region III quarterfinal before an almost-capacity crowd at Tyler Junior College's Wagstaff Gymnasium.After leading by only five points at halftime, the Tigers scored 25 in the third quarter - all by Johnson, Walker and Spears - to take a commanding 59-43 lead into the fourth.The victory advances Arp (24-6) to the regional tournament, scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Wagstaff Gymnasium. The Tigers will meet Kountze in the semifinals at 8 p.m. Friday.But if it weren't for Johnson, Walker and Spears, it might have been Frankston (24-7) continuing along."We knew that in the third quarter we were going to have to turn up the pressure a bit," said Tigers coach Brian Keith. "My two big dogs (Johnson and Spears) took over--- And we run our offense through my point guard (Walker). He's got a heart as big as anyone's."Johnson finished with a game-high 20 points and nine rebounds, while Walker had 18 points and Spears had 17 points and nine boards. Kendall McClendon added 10 points.Frankston was paced by five players in double figures. Bryan Blackwell led with 16 points, followed by Oliver Hatton (15 points, seven rebounds), Jacob Whitehurst (12 points), Ketrick Harmon (10 points, fifve rebounds) and (Orlando Hatton (11 points, five rebounds).Spears got the third quarter going with a bucket to move the Arp ahead 36-29 one minute in, before Johnson erupted for nine straight points as the Tigers went up by nine, 45-36, three minutes later. Walker gave the Tigers their first double-digit lead of the night, 47-36, on a jumper 15 seconds later.Early in the fourth, Arp grabbed its largest lead, 61-43, on a Johnson bucket. Though the Tigers' lead decreased from there, Frankston never cut it to single digits.---Class 2A Region III QuarterfinalArp 76, Frankston 64Arp 13 21 25 17 - 76Frankston 15 14 14 21 - 64ARP - Zack Spears, 17; Corey Walker, 19; Trumaine Jones, 4; LaVocheya Cooper, 6; Sedrick Johnson, 20; Kendal McClendon, 10.FRANKSTON - Oliver Hatton, 15; Orlando Hatton, 11; Jacob Whitehurst, 12; Ketrick Harmon, 10; Bryan Blackwell, 16.THREE POINT GOALS - A: McClendon, Walker. F: Ol. Hatton, Blackwell (3), Or. Hatton, Whitehurst (2).RECORDS - Arp 24-6; Frankston 24-7.NEXT UP - Arp vs. Kountze, 8 p.m. Friday, Wagstaff Gymnasium. Frankston, season complete.Shane Stark covers sports. He can be reached at 903.596.6293. e-mail: [email protected]Tatum Reaches Regional Semis By MICKEY SMTHSports CorrespondentLINDALE - Chance Blackmon and Harrison Hartt scored 12 points each as Tatum advanced to the Class 2A Region III tournament with a 53-50 victory against Malakoff on Tuesday night at Lindale High School.Hartt finished with seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks.Tatum (22-12) will meet Winnie East Chambers in the regional semifinals at 5 p.m. Friday at Tyler Junior College's Wagstaff Gymnasium. Malakoff finished its season at 20-10.Tatum rallied from two points down entering the fourth quarter, which was highlighted by four lead changes.Tatum's Darnius Moore finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.Malakoff was led by Damien Givens (16 points), Steven Ramsour (12 points), J.J. Coleman (10 points, six rebounds, three blocked shots) and Coby Dawson (10 points).Class 2A Region III QuarterfinalAt Lindale High SchoolTatum 53, Malakoff 50Malakoff 14 16 10 10 - 50Tatum 8 17 15 15 - 53MALAKOFF - Coby Dawson, 10; Steven Ramsour, 12; Damien Givens, 16; J.J. Coleman, 10; Dalton Coia, 2.TATUM - Matt Brown, 6; Chance Blackmon, 12; Darnius Moore, 10; Harrison Hartt, 12; Jonathan Humphries, 6; Cashas Pollard, 7.THREE POINT GOALS - M: none. T: Hartt (3), Blackmon.RECORDS - Malakoff 20-10; Tatum 22-12.NEXT UP - Malakoff, season complete; Tatum vs. Winnie East Chambers 5 p.m. Friday, Tyler Junior College's Wagstaff Gymnasium.
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