By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
The second-ranked Palestine-Wheatley Lady Patriots and the seventh-ranked Hughes Blue Devils rolled to convincing victories Tuesday in their respective first-round state tournament games.
The Lady Patriots had little trouble disposing of the Lewisville Lady Red Devils in the Class AA State Tournament at Danville while the Blue Devils used a 17-to-0 run in the second period to chew up the Dardanelle Sand Lizards in Class AAA action at Riverview High School in Searcy.
Hughes got 20 points from junior guard Lonnie Smith and 18 points from Robert Davis in handing Dardanelle a 75-46 loss.
Dardanelle ends their year at 18-9 while the Blue Devils push their win streak to 24 consecutive victories and their overall season mark to 32-1.
They are the No. 1 seed from Region 3.
They will face either Valley View or Hamburg in second-round play on Friday, at 2:30 p.m.
Valley View and Hamburg play tonight at 8:30 p.m.
Hughes led 17-13 after a closely played first period but opened the second period by scoring 17 unanswered points to push their lead to 34-13. Dardanelle did not score until the 2:31 mark of the second period when Steven Lathan hit one of two free throws.
Hughes went on to lead 39-18 at the half after not allowing a Dardanelle field goal in the period.
During the run, Smith nailed two threes.
The Blue Devils led 59-35 after three periods and opened the fourth period by scoring seven unanswered points in 44 seconds to lead 66-35.
Paul Doolittle and Tim Jones nailed consecutive jumpers and Jermaine Davis forced a steal and drained the three.
Leading 73-37, Hughes Coach Wes Swift went to his bench and let the reserves finish the game.
Roderic Chaten led Dardanelle with 21 points. Lathan finished with 14.
Jones was the only other Hughes player to reach double figures, adding 10. Jermaine Davis and Chris Crawford chipped in six points each while Malcolm Curne, Jay Doolittle and Paul Doolittle finished with four points each.
The Blue Devils drilled six three-pointers in the game with Smith hitting four of those.
In other AAA boys' state tournament games, Warren defeated Dumas 52-40 and East Poinsett County rolled past Eudora 84-67.
In AAA girls' action, Drew-Central advanced to second round play with a 69-43 win over Dumas, CAC held off Farmington 57-50, despite 27 points (seven, three pointers) from Farmington freshman guard April Carter and Valley View ousted Lake Village 60-41.
The Lady Patriots placed all five starters in double figures in their 80-42 win over Lewisville Tuesday at Danville.
Erica Smith led with 28 points while Nikki Bass added 17 points. Melanie Baker, Carlene Gardner and Sheryl Moore each finished with 10 points. Beth Varvil finished with four points.
The Lady Patriots, one of four No. 1 seeds in the bottom half of the state tournament bracket, advance to Friday's second-round game against either Marmaduke or Valley Springs.
P-W opened a 23-11 lead after one period and then exploded for 28 points in the second period to lead 51-24 at the half.
Smith poured in 11 points in the second period while Gardner struck for eight points.
By the end of the third period, the Lady Patriots were holding a 66-28 lead after allowing only four Lewisville points in the third period.
Lewisville ends their year at 20-6 while the Lady Patriots improve to 32-1 while recording their 25th straight victory.
Cassandra Henry led Lewisville with 17 points.
In other AA state girls' games Tuesday, Riverside pulled a mild upset by knocking off Flippin 44-28.
Riverside was seeded second into the tournament while Flippin was the No. 1 seed from Region 2.
Two-time Class AA defending champions, Greenland manhandled Magnet Cove 82-39.
In AA boys' action Tuesday, Turrell beat Bergman 67-64; Augusta stayed unbeaten with a 68-49 win over Waldo and Charleston beat Mayflower 60-51.
FORREST CITY -- The Sheridan Lady Yellowjackets rallied from 16 points down to take the lead over the Springdale Lady Bulldogs with 16 seconds remaining.
But Springdale's 6-2 junior center Benita Gregory caught a rebound high above her head and tossed the ball back through the hoop as the final two seconds expired, giving the Lady Bulldogs a 64-63 victory in the first round of the Class AAAAA State Tournament at Mustang Arena.
The Lady Bulldogs will face either West Memphis or North Little Rock in Friday's 1 p.m. quarterfinal game.
West Memphis and NLR play tonight at 7 p.m.
Sheridan finished the season at 20-6.
In other first-round games played Tuesday, the Jonesboro Lady Hurricane, ranked fifth in the state, held off El Dorado 50-47 to advance to Friday's second-round game and Mount St. Mary, ranked seventh in the state, had no problems eliminating the Jacksonville Lady Red Devils 58-39.
Jonesboro will play the Mountain Home-Fayetteville winner on Friday while Mount St. Mary gets the Fort Smith Southside-Bryant winner.
Springdale made 11 of its first 12 shots from the field after trailing 30-28 at halftime. Sophomore forward Krista Sanchez scored 25 points and completed a 3-point play with 6:50 remaining to put Springdale ahead 57-41.
Sheridan's Brandi Taylor poured in 36 points.
Springdale's Carrie Ward, whose 3-pointer broke a 34-34 tie in the third period, scored on a pass from Sanchez to make the score 59-45.
Springdale watched their lead dwindle to 60-59. Sanchez scored on a pass from Kara Pongonis to make it 62-59 with 1:47 remaining.
Elizabeth Drye answered, nailing her only basket of the game and then Sheridan fouled Pongonis, putting the Springdale junior at the line for a 1-and-1.
Pongonis missed and Taylor drew the fifth foul on Sanchez to get her two free throws.
Pongonis' 10-footer from the right baseline rattled out, but Ward got the rebound. Her putback missed as well, but Gregory grabbed it and put it in for the win.
Gregory finished with a dozen points and Pongonis added 10.
Pam Hatcher scored 18 points and No. 7 Mount St. Mary shot close to 50 percent from the field in a 58-39 victory over Jacksonville.
The Belles hit 17-of-35, including 7-of-12 in the second half, while Jacksonville made only 12-of-39.
Junior guard Michella Gaiser contributed 10 points for the Belles, who led 31-15 at the half.
Junior guard Rachel Townsend led Jacksonville with nine points.
In the final girls game, El Dorado turned the ball over 15 times to just seven by the fifth-ranked Jonesboro Lady Hurricane and that apparently made a difference, as Jonesboro moved into second-round play with a 50-47 win over the Lady Wildcats.
The teams were tied at 26 at the half.
Sarah Sullivan led El Dorado with 12 points. Leann Upshaw's 17 points led Jonesboro.
Nykeisha Hale scored 23 points and Hope came back in the fourth quarter to beat Nettleton 58-56 in the first round of the Class AAAA girls state high school basketball tournament.
Nettleton led 48-40 at the end of the third period. But Hope outscored Nettleton 18-8 in the final frame for the victory.
Karen Roberts, who pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds, added 18 points for Hope. Hale had 10 rebounds.
In other AAAA girls games Osceola blew past Hot Springs Lakeside 53-30, led by Ruby Vaden's 16 points. Tiffany Marshall added 15 points.
Latasha Lewis led Watson Chapel over Vilonia, 44-38, with her 12 points.
After a close first period, Watson Chapel pulled away to gain a 23-16 lead at the half. The schools matched scoring in the third quarter, and Watson Chapel held off the Lady Eagles in the final period.
Bailey Baker led Vilonia with 13 points.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
FORREST CITY-- Little Rock Central, which lost its No. 1 ranking this week to Osceola, had to hold Jonesboro to four points in the fourth quarter to beat the Hurricane 42-37 in the first round of the Class AAAAA boys state high school basketball tournament Tuesday at Mustang Arena.
Central, one of the tournament favorites, trailed 33-32 entering the final period.
The Tigers made only 2-of-14 3-pointers and did not have a player in double figures.
Central shot over 50 percent from the field in the second half while Jonesboro shot barely 31 percent in the second half.
Edgar Whitley led the Tigers with 9 points. Greg Jones paced Jonesboro with 11 points and Matt Byrd added 10.
Central will face the Fayetteville-El Dorado winner Thursday at 8:30 p.m., in second-round action.
In the second boys' game of the day, Pine Bluff topped Russellville 58-47 behind the shooting of Jarmorrow Moragne, who got 15 points.
The Zebras and Cyclones were tied at 13 at the end of the first period, but Pine Bluff had a 28-22 lead at the half. The Zebras outscored Russellville 17-11 in the third quarter for a 45-33 lead at the three-quarters mark.
Cecil James led the Cyclones with 15 points, while Richmond Jordan added 14.
Pine Bluff draws the LR Parkview-Blytheville winner Friday at 2:30 p.m.
The final boys' game Tuesday saw Bam Doyne score 24 points to lead the Little Rock Mills Comets past Lake Hamilton, 59-49.
Mills took a 34-19 lead into the locker room at the half.
Beau Brickell led Lake Hamilton with 12 points.
Greg Newson scored 20 points and Octavious Bailey added 19 as top-ranked Osceola beat Lakeside 85-65 on Tuesday in the first round of the Class AAAA boys high school basketball tournament at Greenbrier.
The Seminoles led 36-20 at the half. Chris Wilkinson led Lakeside with 21 points.
Osceola draws the Alma-Monticello winner Thursday at 8:30 p.m.
Little Rock Fair got 21-points from Vincent Hunter to lead the War Eagles to a 45-43 victory over Marion.
Fair took a 22-18 lead at the half, then had to fight to preserve the lead against a determined Marion. Zrano Bowles led Marion with 19 points.
Fair will return to action on Friday to take on the winner of today's Marianna-Searcy matchup.
In the final boys' game of the day Harrison downed No. 1 seeded North Pulaski 64-62 behind the 18 points of Kyle Presley.
Harrison led 32-29 at the half. North Pulaski outscored the Goblins in the third period, 16-13, to tie the game at 45 at the start of the final quarter. But Harrison pulled away in the last period.
Linwood Sanders led the Falcons with 11 points, and Courtney Turner added 10.
Harrison will play the Hope-Wynne winner on Friday.
Hope and Wynne will tip Thursday at 2:30 p.m.
The Turrell Rockets upset Bergman 67-64 in Tuesday's first-round play at the Class AA state Tournament at Danville.
Turrell will play next on Thursday against the Stephens-Clarendon winner.