By MATT KING
Daily Journal Sports Writer

Published: Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Updated: Tuesday, November 24, 2009 11:41 AM CST

IRONTON — A sequence of careless ball-handling miscues from favored Central on Monday night enabled the Lesterville basketball team to slash a sizable deficit to just four points by halftime.

But the third-seeded Rebels responded with swarming defense out of the locker room in first-round action at the 83rd Arcadia Valley Tournament, forcing five successive turnovers during a span of 1:42.

The momentum quickly snowballed into a decisive 19-0 run, and four Central players ultimately reached double figures while posting a season-opening 80-54 triumph.

Tanner Skaggs scored a game-high 23 points and senior Jermaine Jones powered in 19 with a pair of transition dunks for the Rebels (1-0), who will face second-seeded Clearwater in Wednesday’s semifinal action.

Skaggs knocked down a pair of transition jumpers on the fast break, and Jones capped the sudden scoring outburst that resulted in a comfortable 50-27 lead with a dazzling individual effort.

Jones completed a midcourt steal with a behind-the-back dribbling escape, and raced into the clear for a strong one-handed slam. His second dunk countered a Lesterville 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter.

Donovan Jones netted the majority of his 13 points during the opening quarter, and point guard Preston Harlow added 11 in the victory as Central pressured the Bearcats into 29 total turnovers.

An athletic save near the sideline by Skaggs preceded a right-wing triple from Harlow, and the Rebels were seemingly rolling with a 31-16 advantage midway through the second quarter.

Lesterville (0-1), which returns only two starters after finishing runner-up in last year’s tournament, trailing throughout the action, but closed the first half with an energetic 11-0 run.

Shawn Berryhill converted a pair of transition putbacks after Central lost the basketball on driving attacks, and the Bearcats tacked on some free throws to pull within 31-27.

Slade Nichols paced Lesterville with 13 points, and Cody Pollard added 12 with seven rebounds. Evan Stewart chipped in nine points.

Clearwater (1-0) advanced on Monday with an 81-50 win over Ellington.

Arcadia Valley 79, Bismarck 34

IRONTON — Senior forward Brock Walker needed only four seconds to convert a traditional three-point play off the opening tip, and top-seeded Arcadia Valley was off and running on Monday evening.

The host Tigers scored several uncontested baskets off a consistent supply of forced turnovers, and stormed past Bismarck 79-34 during the first of three opening-round tournament games.

Brock Walker connected three times from beyond the arc to notch a game-high 24 points. Twin brother Blake Walker finished with 16 points and Caleb Sutton added 11 off the bench for Arcadia Valley (1-0).

Bismarck (0-1) missed its first seven shots from the field and committed 11 first-quarter turnovers. The Indians trailed 22-0 after Tigers center Erick Lindsey scored a putback with 1:12 remaining in the period.

Brian Little finished a 2-on-1 break to begin the second quarter, and Blake Walker made consecutive layups after slipping behind the Bismarck defense. Three-pointers by Sutton and Jacob Spitzmiller created a 50-10 halftime lead.

Trevor Wild scored 10 points for the Indians. Ben Mosier drilled two triples off the bench and Jeff Jarvis collected a game-high nine rebounds.

West County and South Iron will compete tonight at 6 p.m. for the right to challenge Arcadia Valley on Wednesday. South Iron is the six-time defending tournament champion.

Bismarck   2   8  11  13 - 34

Arcadia Valley  27  23  21  8 - 79

SCORING:

Bismarck - Wild 10, Mosier 6, Politte 5, Jarvis 5, Wakefield 4, Mills 4. 3-point FG - Wild 2, Mosier 2, Jarvis.

Arcadia Valley - Br Walker 24, Bl Walker 16, Sutton 11, Lindsey 9, Spitzmiller 5, Adams 5, Usher 3, Little 2, Ray 2, Gregory 2. 3-point FG - Br Walker 3, Sutton 3, Spitzmiller.

Lesterville  8  19  11  16 - 54

Central  16  15  23  26 - 80

SCORING:

Lesterville - Nichols 13, Pollard 12, Stewart 9, Berryhill 8, Kelley 7, Pippin 4, Wolff 1. 3-point FG - Nichols.

Central - Skaggs 23, J Jones 19, D Jones 13, Harlow 11, Baker 6, Tyree 6, Reed 2. 3-point FG - Harlow 2, Skaggs, D Jones.