SPLIT DECISION | Lady Eagles slip, but Eagles get a win for the ages over L-E; face Ponder Tuesday at Caddo Mills
Tatum High School basketball fans had a bittersweet night.
The “bitter” came first, as the Lady Eagles took on Paradise in the UIL 3A, Division II regional semifinals – better known as the third round – at Kaufman High School.
But Tatum came up five points short this time, unfortunately, as Paradise held on for a 62-57 win.
In Pittsburg, though, was the “sweet:” JaCorie Bradley went off for 33 points, living at the free throw line, in front of a standing-room-only crowd to see Tatum face undefeated Liberty-Eylau.
Tatum fans left happy; Liberty-Eylau did not, as the Eagles took a relatively-close halftime game (31-24, Tatum) and blew it open – the final was Tatum 69, Liberty-Eylau 53.
That’s right: Tatum’s winning streak continues (it’s now at 15, with playoff wins over Mineola and Liberty-Eylau), and the Leopards, expected by many to hang around quite a while in the 3A-Division I playoffs, is out – with a 34-1 record, and man, does that “1” loom large.
Tatum will meet Ponder on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Caddo Mills High School, in the 3A-DI regional semifinals. Ponder is the home team. Gates will open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for students, and here’s a link to purchase them: Caddo Mills High School (Caddo Mills, TX) Athletics.
The winners will face either Pottsboro (26-7) or Jefferson (27-4) in the regional final.
L-E had a move-in from Bradley, Arkansas, Tyrese Harris, that had been averaging 24 points a game. Harris won a state championship in Bradley as a freshman, hitting the game-winning shot.
There was no way that was happening Friday night, as it turned out, because Tatum was up way too far. And Harris, who was held to 16 points, fouled out with just under a minute left.
Tatum (29-2) moves on to the regional semifinals, where the coach Brett Carr’s Eagles will face Ponder. Ponder (23-11) beat Commerce, 52-36, tonight in a second-round game in Anna.
Paradise 62, Tatum 57 (girls): Back to the girls game.
Kamdyn Scott had 18 for the Lady Eagles, leading them in scoring one last time this year, in what would be the final game for Tatum. The Lady Eagles finish the season having won the District 16-3A championship, two playoff games, and a final record of 24-7.
Aundrea Bradley scored 16 for Tatum, who was in the game until its end. Kaleigh Hooker chipped in eight points and Rhianna Harris and Alecia Halton each had seven.
Brittain Richey led Paradise with 16 points.
Paradise (25-10) moves on to face either Bells or Quitman in the regional final.
Tatum 69, Liberty-Eylau 53: A packed house came out to see two of East Texas’ basketball powerhouses trade blows, and it was – at various times – a physical game played at breakneck speed, like basketball in a blender.
And Tatum likes it like that. The Eagles’ defense was swirling out of control like a runaway lawnmower, with Liberty-Eylau playing the role of the grass.
As he normally does, Tatum’s Luke Sigler set the tone early with a steal, and dished off to Cooper Whiteus for a bucket. Then Whiteus popped a three-pointer, scoring the first five points of the game.
Bradley’s big night started moments later, with a basket that gave Tatum a 7-2 lead, and the teams would play a back-and-forth first quarter, with Bradley and teammate Jordan Chambers pulling down rebounds over the smaller L-E line-up.
L-E’s Zay’breion Cooper hit a basket with under a minute left that put the Leopards up three, 16-13, as the quarter ended.
The second quarter, though, began with Chambers hitting a shot, the start of a 10-0 Eagles run. By the time Dequane Prevo – who doubles as an all-state wide receiver for the Leopards in football – hit a three-pointer with just under 4 ½ minutes left in the half, Tatum led 23-19, and as it turned out, coach Brett Carr’s Eagles would not trail again.
Tatum led 31-24 at halftime, and things would get worse for the Leopards, coached by Tom Leamon, who ran through competition this year like a hot knife through butter – that is, until Friday night, in front of a raucous crowd from both fan bases.
Bradley scored the first two points of the second half, and the Eagles went on a 13-0 run, including another three by Whiteus, who would eventually foul out of the game in the final moments, but not before he did a TON of damage, alongside Bradley.
Another three, this one by Luke Sigler, who runs the court like something bad is chasing him, gave Tatum a 48-29 lead. The Leopards didn’t score a point in the second half until Harris hit three free throws with 2:42 left in the third.
Tatum led 50-31 at the end of three, and even when Prevo and Cooper hit for eight points to get their teams within 11 (50-39), right back came Bradley with a rebound – and a foul on L-E, and then a technical foul was called.
Bradley got to shoot four back-to-back-to-back-to-back free throws with under seven minutes to play and hit every single one, giving the Eagles back a 15-point lead (54-39) and pretty much sealing the deal.
Bradley scored 17 points in the fourth quarter, a lot of that from the free throw line. In the game, the big Eagle went 13-of-19 from the line. Combined with his teammates, Bradley and the Eagles took 33 free throws and hit 21 of them.
Bradley also had 10 rebounds, four steals and an assist to go with those 33 points.
Sigler dropped 14 points on the Leopards, and also had five rebounds, two steals and two assists. Whiteus finished with 13 points, five rebounds, three steals and an assist.
Chambers scored four, but had eight rebounds and an assist.
As mentioned, L-E’s Harris had 16, but eight of those were in the first quarter.
When details are announced about when Tatum and Ponder meet in the 3A-Division I regional semifinals this coming week, we’ll announce them here on ETBlitz.com.
