LONOKE The Hughes Blue Devils seem to be hitting their stride at just the right time.
Hughes, the defending Class AAA state champions, beat Lonoke 67-50 Saturday night to win the 6AAA district tournament at Lonoke High School.
For the second straight year, the Blue Devils enter the Class AAA Region 3 Tournament as the No. 1 seed from the 6AAA.
Hughes will face Dover, the fourth seed from the 5AAA, Wednesday, Feb. 20, at 5:30 p.m., at Pulaski Academy in Little Rock.
It is a first-time meeting between the two schools in postseason play.
A win over Dover assured the Blue Devils of a return trip to the Class AAA state tournament and will bring Hughes back on Friday to face the Pulaski Academy-Pine Bluff Dollarway winner at 5:30 p.m.
Lonoke will take on Beebe Thursday, Feb. 21, at 8:30 p.m.
Friday's win over Lonoke avenges two previous losses to the Jackrabbits, who are coached by former Hughes coach Wes Swift.
The game was filled with runs.
After Lonoke took a 3-0 lead on three-pointer by Cedric Walker, the Blue Devils reeled off seven consecutive points, including five by Jermaine Davis and two by Antonio Cotton.
Hughes led 18-13 after one quarter.
The Blue Devils opened the second quarter with a 6-0 run on baskets by senior guard Lonnie Smith and freshman guard David Dowden and two free throws by Robert Davis, to push the score to 24-13.
Lonoke battled back to pull within five at 30-25 before Hughes scored the half's final six points to lead 36-25.
Hughes led by as many as 21 points in the fourth quarter following a 7-0 run.
Jermaine Davis' three-pointer with 4:44 left gave the Blue Devils a 63-42 lead.
Robert Davis led Hughes with 17 points while Smith had 16.
Skippy Norman led Lonoke with 22 points.
The Blue Devils improve to 21-8 for the year. They rolled through the district by turning back Brinkley and Pine Bluff Dollarway on the way to Saturday's final.
The Lonoke Lady Jackrabbits pulled the upset win over top-seeded Pine Bluff Dollarway in Saturday's girls' championship game, giving them the No. 1 seed into the regional tournament.
Lonoke faces Dover in first-round action, Wednesday at 7 p.m., at Pulaski Academy.
Dollarway draws CAC Thursday, at 4 p.m.
WEST MEMPHIS -- Larry Bray calls it a "one-shot deal."
The round robins are, for the most part, over and now it's time for the West Memphis Blue Devils to produce on the spot.
West Memphis clinched at least second place in the AAAAA-East Conference last Friday night at the Devil Dome with a 61-44 victory over Forrest City, keeping the Mustangs winless in conference play at 0-12 with two regular season games left to play.
For West Memphis, there is still hope for a conference championship, however, but the Blue Devils must get help from outside sources.
Little Rock Mills leads the league with a 10-1 record and the Blue Devils fall in second with an 11-2 mark.
West Memphis (18-7 overall) close out the regular season Tuesday night at home against Blytheville.
Mills has two more regular-season games. In case of a tie at the end of the season, West Memphis the tie-breaker would favor the Blue Devils.
Forrest City will host Cabot Tuesday and play at Mills on Thursday.
After a sluggish first half, the Blue Devils regrouped to give a more intense effort in the second half against Forrest City.
The Blue Devils turned a precarious five-point margin into a 48-30 lead after three quarters by going on a 15-2 run in the final 5:06 of the stanza.
"Forrest City was getting down the floor and getting easy layups on us," said Bray.
Senior center D.J. Loving led the Blue Devil attack with 16 points.
The Blue Devils made the most of their free throws by hitting 14 of 17.
If the Blue Devils finish second in the AAAAA-East, they will play Feb. 28 at 5:30 p.m. against the third-place team from the West.
The Blue Devil junior varsity kept their unblemished mark in the AAAAA-East with a 72-49 blowout over Forrest City.
Lady Devils 59, Lady Mustangs 44
The West Memphis Lady Devils will be the No. 1 seed from the AAAAA-East into the Class AAAAA state tournament next week.
Friday's 59-44 win over the Forrest City Lady Mustangs made that reality.
Now, all the Lady Blue Devils need is a win over Blytheville Tuesday night at home to clinch the outright conference championship.
For the Lady Mustangs, it will be a fifth place finish in the conference, leaving Forrest City short of their postseason aspirations.
"If we had just hit half of our shots from the field, we could have won the game," said Forrest City Coach Sue Jayroe.
The Lady Mustangs, 8-14 overall and 4-8, shot just 29 percent from the field (13-of-45) and were outscored in the first half 25-to-14.
The Lady Blue Devils (23-2, 12-1) will play the fourth-place team from the AAAAA-Central on Feb. 26, at 1 p.m. at Fort Smith.
West Memphis senior Kim Turner scored 21 points, edging out Forrest City's Caronica Randle (19 points) for game-high honors.
The Lady Devils led 25-14 at the half.
Forrest City senior Deosha Agnew, battling flu-like symptoms, was held to just seven points. Erika Haggans finished with seven and Trina Wynne added six.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
BARTON -- The Palestine-Wheatley Lady Patriots did what they needed to do Saturday by defeating Barton's Lady Bears 38-35 to win the 6AA District Tournament title for the fourth straight time.
It was also the third straight time that Barton and P-W have met in the district finals and it was the third meeting between the two teams this season, with P-W taking two of the three games.
By virtue of winning the district title, the Lady Patriots, the defending Class AA state champions, will carry the No. 1 seed from the 6AA Conference into the Class AA Region 6 Tournament which begins Wednesday at Harding Academy in Searcy.
The Lady Patriots, 18-10 overall, will play DeValls Bluff, the fourth seed from the 2AA South, Wednesday, Feb. 20, at 4 p.m.
LaRhonda Bender led P-W with 13 points against Barton but it was senior guard Nikki Bass who was named the MVP of the game. Bass finished with eight points.
Barton will play Carlisle, Thursday, at 7 p.m. in the first round of the regional.
The Lady Patriots defeated Elaine 64-23 Friday night in semifinal action to advance to Saturday's district final.
Bender led with 16 points while Libby Martin finished with 14 and Bass added 10. Alexis Sims had five points for Elaine.
Meanwhile the P-W Patriots are returning to regional action.
The Patriots lost to Altheimer 90-53 in Saturday's district final, but will carry the No. 2 seed into the Class AA Region 6 Tournament.
The Patriots will play Hazen, the third seed from the 2AA South Thursday, Feb. 21, at 5:30 p.m., at Harding Academy.
Against Altheimer, Oliver Smith had 20 but the Red Devils' Cedric Thomas led all scorers with 25 points.
P-W led 14-10 after one period but fell behind 43-30 at the half.
On Friday, the Patriots needed 31 points from DeVille Pickett andf overtime to get past Marvell 79-76, to advance to Saturday's championship game.
Brandon Roberts added 17 points and Smith had nine in the semifinal win.
In junior high action, the P-W Junior patriots lost to Altheimer 60-56 in overtime in Saturday's final while the Junior Lady Patriots fell to Barton in Friday's semifinals.
* PREP BASKETBALL
Boys' AAAAA-East
Conf. O/all
Little Rock Mills 11-1 22-3
West Memphis 11-2 17-7
Blytheville 7-4 14-7
Jonesboro 6-6 9-15
Jacksonville 7-5 11-12
Sylvan Hills 4-7 10-10
Cabot 2-11 5-19
Forrest City 0-12 2-20
Girls' AAAAA-East
Conf. O/all
West Memphis 12-1 23-2
Jacksonville 10-2 19-4
Jonesboro 9-3 20-5
Cabot 7-6 14-12
Forrest City 4-8 8-14
Sylvan Hills 3-8 10-9
Blytheville 3-8 11-12
Little Rock Mills 0-12 0-0
Friday's Scores
Senior Boys
West Memphis 61, Forrest City 44
LR Mills 79, Blytheville 52
Jacksonville defeated Cabot
Jonesboro 58, Sylvan Hills 55
Saturday's Scores
Jacksonville 53, Jonesboro 48
Senior Girls
West Memphis 59, Forrest City 44
Blytheville defeated LR Mills
Jacksonville 49, Cabot 39
Jonesboro defeated Sylvan Hills
Saturday's Scores
Jacksonville 53, Jonesboro 46
6AAA District Tournament at Lonoke
Saturday's Boys' Score
Hughes 67, Lonoke 50
Saturday's Girls' Results
Lonoke defeated PB Dollarway
6AA District at Barton
Saturday's Score
Junior Boys
Altheimer 60, Palestine-Wheatley 56 OT
Junior Girls
Barton defeated Altheimer
Senior Girls
Palestine-Wheatley 38, Barton 35
Senior Boys
Altheimer 90, Palestine-Wheatley 53
Class AA Region 6 Tournament at Harding Academy, Searcy
Wednesday, February 20-Senior Girls
Palestine-Wheatley vs DeValls Bluff, 4 p.m.
Harding Academy vs Altheimer, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, February 20-Senior Boys
Augusta vs Elaine, 5:30 p.m.
Altheimer vs McCrory, 8:30 p.m.
Class AAA Region 3 Tournament at Pulaski Academy in Little Rock
Wednesday, February 20-Senior Girls
Lamar vs DeWitt, 4 p.m.
Lonoka vs Dover, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, February 20-Senior Boys
Hughes vs Dover, 5:30 p.m.
Oak Grove vs Dumas, 8:30 p.m.
* PREP BASEBALL
High School
Forrest City Mustangs
Tuesday, February 26
Searcy at Forrest City, 4:30 p.m.
High School Girls' Softball
Forrest City Lady Mustangs
Thursday, February 28
Little Rock Mills at Forrest City, 4 p.m.