Manila boys advance to state tournament, Lady Lions drop heartbreaker

Scott Eubanks and Brady Jones combined for 38 points as Manila punched its ticket to the 3A State Tournament with a 48-28 win over host Flippin Thursday night in the first round of the 3A North Regional Tournament.

Manila (20-8) led just 18-17 at intermission but outscored Flippin 30-11 in the second half to secure the win. The Lions held Flippin's top scorer, Dillon Hargrove, to just two points behind the strong defensive effort of senior Dillow Burrow.

Eubanks led Manila with 21 points while Jones added 17 more.

The Lions dropped a 58-41 decision in Friday night's semifinals to Mountain View. Bergman defeated Manila 63-54 in the third place contest Saturday afternoon.

Manila will open state tournament play as a number four seed and will take on the first seed from Region 1, Cedarville, Tuesday afternoon at 2:30 at Fordyce.

Lady Lions

Flippin rallied from a late deficit for a come-from-behind 43-40 victory over Manila, spoiling the Lady Lions' chances for a state tournament berth.

The Lady Bobcats (29-6) held a 10 point lead at the half before Manila rallied in the third period, going on a 7-0 run to close the gap to 30-26 when Kirsten Adcock drained a three pointer. Hannah Davis answered with a jumper to push the Flippin lead to six before Manila closed to within 32-29 at the end of the third period.

Manila tied the game when Emily Cook opened the final frame with a three pointer. Cook drained another trey, giving the Lady Lions a 37-34 lead with 5:35 left in the game. Kaylee Wood's lone field goal of the final quarter pulled Flippin to within 37-36 before Amanda Whitman tied the game with a free throw at the 1:23 mark.

Deven Burrow hit one of two foul shots, giving Manila a 38-37 edge, but Flippin took the lead for good on Whitman's two charity tosses with 55 seconds left. Flippin stretched its lead to 42-38 and held on for the win.

Manila finishes the season 17-11.