Apaches corral
Ponies; Fillies claim narrow victory
Longview News
Journal
Thursday, January 24, 2008
CARTHAGE — Marquette signee Joe Fulce asserted his will early and often, teaming up with Jimmy Butler and Tyler's high-octane offense to top Panola 91-77 in Region XIV Conference action Wednesday at Arthur Johnson Gymnasium.
With Marquette head basketball coach Tom Crean watching, Fulce came one rebound shy of a double-double in the first half. Fulce finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds as Butler added 24 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. Former Karnack standout Malcolm Thomas scored 12 points in 10 first-half minutes to finish with 15 points, four boards and three steals.
First half
Tyler came out on fire thanks in part to the fast-paced offense Apache assistant coach Scott Monarch used to win a 2002-03 national team scoring title at Panola with 104.7 points per game. Tuesday's game was the first game for Monarch at Panola since the 2005-06 season, when he guided the Ponies to a 22-9 record. Monarch's 119-65 record at Panola gives him the most wins in Panola history.
After Panola's Brandon Webb hit a jumper that cut Tyler's lead to 18-15 with 14:31 left in the half, Tyler staged a 22-10 run over the next eight minutes to take control of the game.
Panola's Papa Oppong, the Ponies' leading scorer, started hot, hitting three of his first four three-pointers. Oppong finished with a team-high 15 points and five boards.
Second half
Panola opened the second half on a 13-7 run as a Milton Burton triple cut the Apache lead to 60-51 with 15:34 left in the game, but the Ponies got no closer. Panola managed to keep its deficit under 20 points, but couldn't assemble a run to get the Ponies back in the game. Panola shot 37.8 percent (28-for-74) from the floor. Tyler hit 11 of 12 second-half free-throw attempts to help the Apaches hold the lead.
WOMEN
Fillies 70
Apache Ladies 68
In a game that featured six lead changes in the final 3:18, Panola connected three times from three-point range in the final 4:13 in a 70-68 Region XIV Conference win over Tyler. Trailing 63-58 with 4:44 left in the game, Panola erased its largest deficit with back-to-back three-pointers from Melissa White and Kim Edmonson, who added two free throws and another triple with 1:35 remaining to put Panola up for good with a 69-67 lead.
Panola hit 9 of 27 three-point attempts. Edmonson, the conference's second-leading scorer, hit five triples and poured in a game-high 25 points and five rebounds to lead Panola to the win. Vedrana Milakovic had 10 points and seven rebounds.
Tyler's Chasity Shavers almost won the game by herself in the second half, scoring all 18 of her points and adding seven rebounds. Pine Tree graduate Jessi Goodman had two steals and an assist for Tyler.
Second half
Panola grabbed leads of 11 with 14:31 left and seven with 7:27 left before Tyler came back with a 12-0 spurt to take a 5-0 lead with 4:44 remaining. Leading 69-67, Panola used an entire shot clock with under a minute left to give Tyler just one good chance at the end. Murphy pulled down an offensive rebound with 2.5 seconds left and was fouled, but missed her second free throw, leaving Panola ahead 69-68. Milakovic then split a pair from the line, and Casie Adams intercepted Murphy's inbound pass near midcourt to use the final 0.9 seconds.
First half
A 13-0 Panola run gave the Fillies a 21-11 lead almost halfway through the first half, but Tyler answered by outscoring the Fillies 20-10 over the next eight and a half minutes to close the gap to one. Edmonson hit three free throws and Casie Adams delivered a pullup jumper to give Panola a 37-31 halftime edge.
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