Senior Lions eliminate Rebels in Gerald Jennings Tournament

JUNIOR REBELS PLACE RUNNER-UP

Manila eliminated Riverside from the Gerald Jennings Holiday Tournament Wednesday night 53-48 in senior boys basketball at Armorel while the Rebels turned the tables on Manila in the junior boys bracket with a 58-34 victory.

In the senior game, the Lions led 14-7 after the first quarter, thanks to three treys, one each by Zack Day, Brady Jones and Dillon Burrow. Riverside battled back in the second period and tied the game, 18-18, on a lay-up by Alteeno Sain, but the Lions closed the half with an 11-0 run to take a 29-18 advantage into the dressing room at the half.

Turnovers plagued the Rebels in the first half, as Riverside committed 12 compared to Manila's seven. Jones started the 11-0 Manila run with a three pointer at the 3:59 mark and Scott Eubanks closed the half with a driving lay-in with 51 seconds remaining before intermission.

Manila built its lead to 36-23 with 3:48 left in the third period, but Riverside rallied late in the quarter, outscoring the Lions 7-0 to close the margin to 36-30 heading into the final frame.

Dylan Wright began the fourth quarter with a three pointer, slicing the Lion lead to 36-33. Manila charged back and built its lead to 48-39 with 3:40 to go in the game before Riverside made one last surge, cutting the Lion edge to 51-48 with six seconds left. But the Rebels were forced to foul, and Blake Carr hit both ends of the one and one to seal the victory and advance the Lions to Thursday night's semifinals.

Jones led Manila with a game high 21 points while Day added 12 more. Eubanks netted six, Carr scored five, Dylan Bogle tallied four, Burrow netted three while Garrett Baker pitched in two points to round out the Lion scoring attack. Manila drilled seven treys on the night and hit eight of 14 foul shots.

Logan Meurer led Riverside with 20 points while Sain also hit double digits with 14. Wright tallied eight while Caleb Waugh added six points. The Rebels drained six treys and hit 10-16 foul shots.

Junior high

In the junior high game, Brandon Sain scored 15 points while Victory Cerda added 11 more to lead the Rebels over Manila. Gavin Stone drilled three treys on his way to a nine point night while Kollin Stone tallied seven. Gunner Tyler netted six, Levi Reed tallied five, Brett Snyder contributed four while Grant Mason added one point for Riverside.

Daniel Dees led Manila with 11 points while Thomas Davis scored eight. Gavin Parker scored five, while Kyle Joyner and Caleb Reinhart added four points apiece. Seth Grissom chipped in two points to round out the Lion scoring attack.

Semi-finals

The senior Lions lost in the semifinals, 66-51, to eventual champion Valley View. Tony Brewster led the Blazers with 25 points while Chris Metcalf added 15 more. Valley View led 19-8 after the first period and 38-19 at the half. The Blazers took a 55-38 lead into the fourth quarter.

Jones led Manila with 19 points while Day added 15.

The junior Rebels placed second in the Gerald Jennings Tournament, defeating number one seeded Paragould 47-46 Thursday night before losing in the finals 50-37 Saturday night to East Poinsett County. Victor Cerda led the Rebels with 12 points.

Manila defeated Harrisburg, 65-20, Tuesday night, in 3A-3 conference action at Manila. Bogle led Manila with 13 points while Day and Eubanks added 11 and 10 points respectively.

The Lions jumped to an 18-2 lead after the first quarter and took a commanding 34-6 advantage into the dressing room at the half. Manila held a 50-13 lead heading into the final frame.

Manila also won the junior boys game 58-37.

Manila will play host to Earle Tuesday night in a key 3A-3 conference tilt before traveling to Wilson to take on Rivercrest Friday night.

Riverside

Riverside's senior boys lost a pair of conference games last week, starting Tuesday night at Caraway. The Rebels dropped a heart-wrenching 72-69 decision to Maynard and lost two starters to injuries in Cole Winford and Braden Peaster.

The Rebels led 18-7 after the first period before Maynard rallied to pull to within 35-33 at the half. Riverside took a 47-43 edge into the fourth quarter, but the Tigers rallied and tied the game 63-63 to send the game into overtime.

Alteeno Sain led Riverside with 17 points and 11 boards while Dylan Wright added 10 points. The Rebels not only lost three players to injuries but had five more foul out.

In junior high action, Riverside rolled over Maynard 62-23. Kollin Stone paced the Rebels with 16 points while Gavin Stone and Victor Cerda added 11 points apiece.

Allen Buchanan scored 17 points and Darius Ivy added 16 more in Marked Tree's 61-48 victory over Riverside Friday night.

Marked Tree improved to 7-1 overall and 5-1 in league play with the win. The Indians took a 21-17 edge after the first quarter and led 38-30 at the half. Marked Tree extended its lead to 50-39 after three periods of play.

Riverside was led by Dylan Wright who had 15 points and 10 boards while Alteeno Sain added 10 more points. The loss dropped the Rebels to 7-10 overall and 0-5 in conference play.

Riverside defeated Marked Tree 43-29 in junior boys action to improve to 4-1 in conference play. Gavin Stone led the Rebels with 15 points while Kollin Stone and Brandon Sain both recorded double-doubles. Stone had 12 points and 14 rebounds while Sain added 10 points and 10 boards.

Riverside will return to action Tuesday night when they travel to Walnut Ridge to take on the Bobcats in 2A-3 conference play, before closing out the week with another conference tilt against Cross County at Lake City.