HARREL SCORES 23, BEARCATS HEADED BACK TO STATE TOURNAMENT

For the fourth time in seven years the Booneville Bearcats are in the state tournament, getting there with a 65-61 win over Lincoln in the Class 3A Region 1 tournament opener in the late game Thursday night.

Besides the state appearances, the Bearcat basketball team has reached a regional five times in seven years with two district tournament titles, one runner-up, and one regular season title as well under Ronnie Denton.

Down 14-7 with 2:41 to play in the opening quarter the Bearcats (18-8) took a time out. Out of the stoppage the Bearcats scored the next nine points to take the lead on a Cody Sum basket.

Lincoln got a 3 before the quarter ended to retake the lead but Noah Harrel started the second quarter with his second 3 of the night and the Bearcats would not trail again.

Harrel, who led the Bearcats with 23 points, scored 11 second quarter points by the 3:38 mark of the quarter and had 16 in the half.

Harrel’s final points of the quarter actually started a 10-0 run – Colter Fisher was responsible for the other seven points, on his way to 17 for the night – and it was 36-23, but Lincoln would end was able to make it 36-25 at the half.

When Dakota Mattson scored for the second time in the third quarter the Bearcats had opened a 15-point lead at 49-34 with 3:11 to go in the quarter.

It was still a 14-point cushion after a Fisher free throw with 1:44 remaining in the quarter but the Wolves needed less than a minute to cut it to single digits at 50-41 going to the final eight minutes.

The lead was just 53-46 with 5:36 remaining but a basket by Sum and a Fisher free throw pushed it back to 10 with 4:30 to play.

Lincoln cut it to 61-56 with a minute and a half left but Harrel and Dax Goff were both two-of-two at the free throw line over 18 seconds and it was 65-58 with 49.2 seconds left.

Goff scored eight points but was a presence under the basket with 14 rebounds.

Though the Bearcats would misfire on four free throws in the final 29.9 seconds, the Wolves could get only one shot, a 3, to fall with 14 seconds left to set the final.

The Bearcats will play again tonight at 8:30 against Elkins. The Elks tied for the Conference 3A-1 regular season title but were the two-seed in the district tournament, which they won last Friday. The Elks bounced Cossatot River 76-56 in the tournament opener.