BEARCATS GO COLD IN FINALS

The forecast called for a cold front to move through the area Friday. The Booneville Bearcats can tell you exactly when it arrived in Hackett.

After one quarter the Bearcats (17-8) led the Conference 3A-4 tournament host and regular season champion Hornets of Hackett 16-9.

Then it went south. The Bearcats scored only 15 points the rest of the night in a 56-31 loss that will relegate the Bearcats to the league’s two seed in next week’s Class 3A Region 1 tournament being hosted in Booneville.

Actually both teams were chilly from the field for almost four full minutes of the second quarter before Hackett finally got a shot to fall.

The Hornets chipped the rest of a then 16-11 lead away at the free throw line, scoring the next six points one at a time.

The Hornets would lead 19-16 after their second second quarter field goal. Wesley Fonseca, who had scored the final points of the first quarter, would score the only Bearcat points of the second to cut it to 19-18 at the intermission.

Hackett scored the first five points of the second half before a Cody Sum basket and Colter Fisher answered a Hornet 3 with one of his own to keep it a four point game at 27-23.

Fisher led the Bearcats with 12 points.

Hackett built a lead of nine with 1:21 left in the third quarter but a pair of Sum free throws whittled it to seven.

Then it got really cold as Hackett scored the next 15 and led 50-28 with 3:39 remaining.

A Dax Goff 3 would be the only fourth quarter points. Goff was a brighter spot under the basket as he pulled down 17 rebounds.

As the two seed from the 3A-4 the Bearcats will now face the 3A-1 three seed Lincoln Wolves in this week’s regional tournament. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. Thursday.