BEARCATS PULL AWAY FROM DOVER, INTO FINALS

The Booneville Bearcats will be after their third Booneville Invitational title Saturday night when they face Acorn in a 6 p.m. game.

To get there the Bearcats beat back Dover 62-46 Thursday night, getting a combined 52 points from Colter Fisher, Evan Escobedo, and C.J. Johnson.

Acorn took down DeQueen and Ozark to reach the finals.

After Dover scored the first four points of the night, the Bearcats (4-0) scored the next eight and led the rest of the first half until a 3 by the Pirates tied the game at 30-30 just 26 seconds before halftime.

The lead had been as many as nine at 17-9 after a personal 5-0 run by Escobedo, who would finish the night with 17, but Dover clawed their way back to within 17-13 by the end of the opening quarter.

Dover got within two early in the second quarter before a pair a baskets by Johnson, who scored 14, pushed it to six and two Fisher free throws made it 26-18.

Dover cut the deficit back to five with a 3 and later tied it with another.

Fisher scored the first four points of the second half and the Bearcats led the rest of the night.

Fisher, who had scored 27 in the opener, would score 15 second half points Thursday night and finish with a team-high 21.

Still, Dover wouldn’t go away. The Pirates were down just 40-38 at the 2:04 mark of the third quarter but a basket by Johnson and a 3 by Fisher made it 45-38 at the end of the quarter.

The Pirates again cut it to four with a 3 with 6:30 to play but the Bearcats scored the next seven points, including a 3 by Raiden Ferguson and were in charge the rest of the way.

Ferguson finished with eight points.