Mon March 04, 2024

By Lance Hawley

Blue Jays Advance to State Championship
Harrison- Nevada headed out to Harrison on Monday, the Jays packed for the entire week, as the game-plan was to win 3 games and come back home Saturday with a 3-0 record at the State Tournament. They followed that game-plan to perfection as they knocked off Marvell-Elaine 42-31 in the first round. Beat Ozark Catholic 59-53 in the Quarterfinals, and secured a trip to the State Championship on Saturday with a 53-45 comeback victory over The New School. The Blue Jays trailed every single game this week heading into the fourth quarter, they combined to outscore their opponents 67-31 in the 4th quarter this week. A remarkable stat.

Nevada 42           Marvell-Elaine 31

The Jays offense began the tournament on Tuesday against Marvell-Elaine in a bit of a slump, where nothing was going as planned. The Jays trailed 16-15 at the half, as buckets were very hard to come by. Nevada would begin the fourth quarter down 23-21, before winning the final quarter 21-8 as the offense finally got going and knocked down some big free throws late. Kavion Coleman scored 9 points and went 7-7 from the free throw line in the final quarter to give the Jays the boost they needed to win the game 42-31. Coleman led the offense with 19 points. Cardi Adair and Keyonte Wingfield each scored 8 points for the Jays, while Brycten Harris added 3 points, and Kobe Hughey and Brogan Rhodes each scored 2. The defense played great for the Blue Jays as they only allowed 20 points in the last three quarters of the game combined. "The game was a little to close for me, but this time of the year a win is a win," Coach Jamario Bell said after the Jays win on Tuesday. With the win, Nevada advanced to play Ozark Catholic on Thursday. 

Nevada 59         Ozark Catholic 53

The Jays would find themselves trailing yet again, heading into the final quarter trailing 38-35. Nevada would errupt and score 24 points to erase the deficit and take control of the game about halfway through the fourth. Behind 13 points from Kavion Coleman in the fourth quarter and a combined effort of 11-12 from the charity stripe between Coleman and Keyonte Wingfield, the Blue Jays would take over and win the game 59-53. Brycten Harris did a great job controlling the tempo of the game late and the Jays would soar into the State Semifinals on Saturday against The New School. 

Kavion Coleman led the Jays in scoring with 18 points, Brycten Harris would score 14 points, as those two continue to make opposing coaches attempt to pick their poison with their defensive gameplans, as both can score in bunches very quickly. Kobe Hughey had a big game, as he scored 9 points and played great defense. Keyonte Wingfield added 7 points and made 4 huge free-throws in the fourth quarter. Cardi Adair scored 5 points and came up with a huge steal in the final quarter to give the Jays an extra possession late in the game, while Justin Myrick and Brogan Rhodes each scored 3 points. 

Nevada 53          The New School 45

With 30 seconds remaining in the 3rd quarter, Nevada was trailing by 10 points. The Blue Jays would then go on to outscore the Cougars by 18 points to finish the game, as they left zero doubt on who the better team was on Saturday afternoon. Nevada would score 22 points in the fourth quarter and pull way from The New School, as Kavion Coleman scored 11 of his team-high 15 points in the fourth quarter. Cardi Adair would play big on Saturday, especially in the third quarter where he scored 8 of his 10 points in the 3rd quarter. Brycten Harris continued to find ways to help his team win, as he scored 8 points and played excellent on both ends of the floor. Keyonte Wingfield and Brogan Rhodes each scored 7 points, Kobe Hughey scored 4 points, and Caleb Moss added 2. With the win, the Jays advance to the State Championship on Saturday to take on Marked Tree in Hot Springs. 

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