BEARCATS KEEP PACE WITH LEAGUE LEADERS

The Booneville Bearcats kept pace with the league frontrunners Tuesday night with a convincing 58-32 win over Danville at Bearcat Gym.

With Charleston (11-2) and Hackett (10-3) both also winning Tuesday night the Bearcats (9-3) remain a half game back of Hackett and a game and a half back of Charleston.

The difference lies in games played. Charleston and Hackett will meet for the second time in the regular season finale for both on Friday night while the Bearcats face Cossatot River, who is a half game back of the Bearcats at 9-4. The Bearcats will close the regular season by hosting Paris on Saturday.

A Hackett win over Charleston and the Bearcats winning twice would create a three-way tie for first or a Charleston win and the Bearcats winning twice would make the Bearcats the two seed.

There are also multiple other scenarios for a two, three, or even four seed for next week’s district tournament in Hackett.

On Tuesday Danville jumped to a 6-1 lead but a basket by Cody Sum and a 3 by Noah Harrel would tie it. There would be a second tie at 8 before the Bearcats went in front on a Harrel free throw and later settled for a 12-11 first quarter lead.

The Bearcats would not trail again but lead was no more than four through the 4:48 mark of the second quarter until a 12-0 run to close the half made it 31-16.

During the run Cody Fisher (shown) hit a couple of free throws and scored from the floor, Dax Goff hit a 3 for part of his seven point quarter and Harrel hit his fourth 3 of the half and scored inside as well.

Harrel finished with a team high 18 points and Goff scored 12. Fisher and Sum both had nine. Sum added nine rebounds and Goff had eight.

Danville twice got within 12 over the first five minutes of the second half but, starting with back-to-back conventional three point plays by Sum and Harrel, the Bearcats went on a 15-0 run and led 51-24 with 4:53 to play when Sum scored on an assist from Goff.

The final points of the night came from Reed Brackney, a freshman who was added to the roster earlier in the day.

The points by Brackney are believed to be the first by a freshman playing in a senior high uniform, joining matching his sister, Leigh Swint, who was the first to do it for the Lady Bearcats.