Cards, Miners set for 5AAA tourney
MARTIN COUCH Sports editor

MINERS

The Bauxite Miners might have played their best game in their 12th win of the season.

Two nights after whipping Perryville at Perryville, the Miners devastated the Pottsville Apaches in Pottsville 76-51.

Peter Whitfield led the Miners with 17 points, including hitting three 3- pointers. Aaron Mathis scored 13 points, G.J. Mayle added nine points and Max Boshears had four blocks defensively. The Miners led 20-9 after the first quarter and moved that to a 42-23 halftime advantage. By the end of the third period, Bauxite was up 68-36 and the mercy rule was invoked.

"Yes, I have to say that was our best team effort of the season," said Bauxite head coach Mark Hall. "These guys are playing well and it looks like they're starting to peak, which is what you want just before the district tournament. Hopefully we can carry that momentum into the tournament and win some more games. I'm so proud of them."

It was the Miners seventh 5AAA Conference victory of the season and it made them 12-10 overall. After coming off two huge conference victories in the 5AAA, the Miners fell in their regular-season finale at Fred Dawson gymnasium 71-59 to the Harmony Grove Cardinals.

5AAA ACTION KEVIN NAGLE AND BOB MCADORY PHOTOS Right, Harmony Grove's Brandon Estell for two; left, Bauxite's Aaron Mathis gets a layup.

"I didn't think we played well," said Hall. "We didn't get any breaks and missed 14 free throws. I hate to lose, but Coach [Jeremy] Rook is a good friend of mine and he has a wellcoached team. The game was pretty physical, but I was glad to see him get success."

Harmony Grove led 19-12 after the first period, then broke the game open with a 25 point second period to lead 44-29 by halftime. Bauxite came back to outscore the Cardinals 18-10 in the third period and got as close as five points, but fell behind in the fourth period on fouls, turnovers and missed free throws.

"It was senior night and we got beat," Hall said. "We're going to try to regroup and win in the district tournament. Hopefully this was a good wake-up call for us and a blessing in disguise."

The Miners finished the regular season with a 12-11 overall record and were the fifth seed entering the district tournament on Monday against Glen Rose with a 7-9 conference record.

Against Harmony Grove, Peter Whitfield led the Miners with 16 points, while Mathis finished with 14 points, Mayle added eight points. Boshears put in six points, Spencer Workman and Jonathan Crone had four points each, while Derek Glomski scored three points, Chad Bono added a basket, while Wesley Stubblefield and Jacob Barnard each had one point.

CARDINALS

After losing its second straight 5AAA Conference game, the Harmony Grove Cardinals needed a win to finish second.

The Cardinals picked up a 71- 59 league win at Bauxite to finish the regular season as conference tri-runners-up with Pottsville and Atkins. The Cardinals got the third seed from the conference for the district tournament and will play Wednesday night against the winner of Mayflower and Perryville. Two wins in the tournament will solidify the Cardinals a spot in the 5AAA Region tournament next week.

CARDINALS KEVIN NAGLE PHOTOS Above left, Harmony Grove's Bryce Nalley. Above right, Michael Long. Below left, Blake Isom, and, below right, Nathan Carter for the Cardinals.

"I was glad to have more points than they did," said Harmony Grove's head coach Jeremy Rook following the Bauxite game. "We didn't want to go into the district tournament on a three-game slide. We were thinking that even if Bauxite beats us and Pottsville beats Atkins, we'd still get the third seed. Well we got the third seed anyway and Atkins beat Pottsville, so if we'd of lost to Bauxite it would have dropped us to fourth. It's big for us to be runners up. If we'd have pulled out a win against Perryville, we'd be the second seed by ourselves."

The Cardinals led 19-12 after the first quarter thanks to eight points from Nathan Carter, whose total included two 3-pointers. Colton McDaniels added five points, including a 3-pointer, Michael Long added four points and hit a 3-pointer and Jason Thomas put in a basket.

Brandon Estell heated up in a 25-point second period with seven points. Harmony Grove led 44-29 by halftime with Carter putting in five more points, Bryce Nalley added four points, Blake Isom scored four points, McDaniels added a basket, Long hit for two more and Thomas made a free throw.

In the third period, the Miners fought back to outscore Harmony Grove 18-10. McDaniels led the way with four points, while Estell, Thomas and Long all had two points each and the Cardiway nals still led 54-47.

Harmony Grove put the game away in the fourth period with three points each from Isom, Estell, Carter, Thomas and Long. Matt Sanford also added a basket in the final total.

"That was a huge win for us," Rook said. "Bauxite did some things that we were able to do and that was beat Perryville and Pottsville on the road and then we had to play them on their senior night. We got back to where basketball was fun again and hit some shots early to break it open."

MINER MANIA BOB MCADORY PHOTOS Above left, Bauxite's Jacob Barnard. Above right, Max Boshears goes for a shot. Below left, Derek Glomski and, below right, Wesley Stubblefield.