NASHVILLE, Ark.By the time fatigue set in, Nashville's girls were well on their way to winning the 2017 Holiday Bankers Classic Saturday at the Scrapper Arena.
The Scrapperettes (15-1) scored the game's first 11 points and never trailed in beating Class A Acorn, 59-40.
The Texarkana Gazette's 2017 player of the year in football, Darius Hopkins, showed out on the hardwood in leading Nashville (15-2) past Centerpoint, 49-36.
Girls Championship
Nashville 59, Acorn40
Acorn (19-8) rallied within 10 midway in the fourth quarter, fouling consistently the final four minutes. The Scrapperettes converted 9 of 16 free throws in those final minutes to rebuild a commanding advantage.
Senior Asia Munn was the biggest difference in the game with a triple-double, scoring 18 points to go with her 12 rebounds and 11 steals. All of Munn's points came in transition.
"Playing five nights in a row, we did get a little tired in the second half," said winning coach Ron Alexander. "Asia is our go-to player, she's a great player. She slices and dices. We had a lot of turnovers in the second half, I hope it was because we were a bit fatigued."
Nashville also got solid efforts from Kendall Kirchoff with 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Kaylea Carver scored 11, with Madi Miller contributing 10.
Leading 29-13 at intermission, Nashville appeared tired after playing five games in five days. Seventeen of its 24 turnovers came in the final half.
The Tigers' comeback was led by Faith Hill. She had a team-high 13 points, including three treys in the fourth quarter. Tori Barrett scored 10 points and contributed 10 rebounds.
Acorn 9 4 8 19 - 40
Nashville 15 14 9 21 - 59
ACORN (40): Hill 4 2-2 13; Barrett 4 2-2 10; Wilhite 2 0-0 4; Bates 1 0-0 3; Fagan 1 2-4 4; Anderson 2 0-0 6. TOTALS 14 6-10 40.
NASHVILLE (59): A. Munn 9 0-0 18; Kirchoff 3 4-9 11; Carver 5 1-2 11; Miller 3 4-5 10; Harrison 3 3-4 9. TOTALS 23 12-20 59.
3-point goals: ACORN, Hill 3, Bates, Anderson 2. NASH., Kirchoff. Team Fouls: Acorn 16, Nashville 12.
Boys Championship
Nashville 49, Centerpoint 36
Hopkins poured in 15 of his game-high 29 points in the first half.
Nashville only trailed once, that coming in the first quarter when Parker Sutton scored inside to make it 4-2.
The Scrappers tied it on two free throws by C.J. Spencer during a 9-0 run. Hopkins scored eight points in the final 2:44 of the first quarter.
Centerpoint (10-9) battled back in the second quarter with Sutton scoring seven of his team-high 13 points. Still, the Scrappers led 24-17 at halftime.
The Knights came out cold to start the second half, failing to score for nearly five minutes. The pulled within eight, but Hopkins took charge again with nine points in the final four minutes.
Keenan Owens had 11 points for the Knights.
Centerpoint 4 13 7 12 - 36
Nashville 13 11 12 13 - 49
CHS (36): Owens 5 1-3 11; R. Ramirez 1 0-0 2; Bright 4 0-0 9; Sutton 4 5-5 13; Taylor 0 1-4 1; M. Bright 0 0-1 0. TOTALS 14 7-13 36.
NASH. (49): Hopkins 10 6-11 29; Spencer 3 2-2 8; Finley 1 0-1 3; Gilliam 3 0-1 8; Adams 0 1-2 1. TOTALS 17 9-17 49.
3-point goals: CHS, O. Bright. NASH., Hopkins 3, Finley, Gilliam 2. Team Fouls: Centerpoint 16, Nashville 15. Fouled Out: CHS, Horn.