High School Sports

By PHIL HICKS
Sports Editor

T.K. Gorman, behind the scoring of Miles Kemp, Nick Brunson and Casey Allare, used a big second-half outburst to notch a 56-48 opening round win over Van Thursday in the Apache Bracket of the annual Floyd Wagstaff Holiday Basketball Classic.

In other Apache Bracket opening round games, Lakeside (La.) downed Grace Community, 66-53; Tatum edged All Saints, 71-66; and Arp won over Canton in overtime, 72-65.

Friday's Apache Bracket schedule has Grace playing All Saints at 9 a.m., followed by Van meeting Canton at 10:30 a.m. The afternoon winner's bracket games have Lakeside tangling with Tatum at 3 p.m. with TKG battling Arp at 5:30 p.m.


T.K. Gorman 56, Van 48

The Crusaders (9-8) looked right at home in Tyler Junior College's Wagstaff Gymnasium. Well, at least in the second half as they outscored the Vandals, 38-18, to rally for the victory.

For the game, Kemp led the way with 23 points, while Brunson pitched in 17 points and Allare added nine, all in the second half.

Stephen Ray helped on the boards with eight, five in the second half, while Nick Humphrey had five rebounds.

With Jermie Calhoun dominating in scoring and on the boards, along with the inside play of Aric Stroop and Peyton Neill, the Vandals (11-5) looked in control with a 30-18 halftime advantage.

For the game, Calhoun had 19 points (12 in the first half) and 14 boards (10 in the first half). Stroop added 10 points and seven rebounds, while Neill contributed eight points, 12 boards and four blocks.

Trailing 38-33, TKG scored the final eight points of the third quarter for a 41-38 advantage. Allare had a bucket and a 3-pointer, followed by Kemp's trey at the buzzer.

In the fourth period it continued as TKG scored the first seven points of the quarter - five points by Kemp and two by Brunson.


Arp 72, Canton 65, OT

In one of the most entertaining games in a day filled with good games, Arp scored the OT win over the Eagles.

It was a shootout with Arp's quickness from Corey Walker, Michael Wade, Trumanine Jones and Lavocheya Cooper taking on the inside might of Canton's Keavon Milton.

Arp coach Brian Keith said the Tigers were missing three of their inside players including star Sedrick Johnson, who is out likely for two more weeks with a broken toe. Others out with sickness or injury were Richard Bradley and Michael Clary.

Arp (3-1) had a balanced scoring attack with Cooper leading the way with 19 points, followed by Walker (13), Wade (13) and Jones (12).

As for the Eagles (6-7), Milton paced Canton with 32 points and 14 rebounds.

Travis Renegar added 12 points and seven boards for Canton, while Grant Franklin chipped in nine points.

The teams were close throughout with Arp's Kenny Stuth giving the Tigers a 59-58 lead with 1:32 left in regulation on a 3-pointer.

Franklin's free throw tied the game at 59-59 with 1:18 to go.

Arp, ranked No. 5 in the state in Class 2A, then milked the clock, but could not connect as the game went to overtime.

In extra period, the Tigers went on a 9-4 run to go up 68-63, The Eagles got the ball back twice trailing 68-65, but twice they committed turnovers.

Arp then iced the game with two free throws each from Walker and Cooper.


Lakeside (La.) 66, Grace Community 53

It was Texas vs. Louisiana in the opener, with our neighbors to the east coming out on top.

The Warriors (14-6) used the combination of Samuel Wallace and Demarcus Taylor to score the win over Grace (8-9).

Wallace hit for 25 points, while Taylor tossed in 24.

Tucker Glaske led the Cougars with 16 points. Daniel Stovall paced Grace with eight rebounds, while Aniekan Isong added five boards.

After falling behind as much as 17 points, the Cougars rallied to within six points, 56-50, on back-to-back 3-pointers by Glaske with 4:50 left in the game.

However, the Warriors hit nine straight points, which included two straight layups by Wallace, for a 65-50 lead.


Tatum 71, All Saints 66

After just getting most of their players in the gym after another deep football playoff run, Tatum edged the Trojans.

Coach Brett Carr's Eagles were playing just their second game of the season. He substituted freely with Matt Brown leading the way with 23 points. DJ Whiting added 14 points, while Cashas Pollard, the quarterback on the football team, contributed 10 points.

Pollard and Brown had eight rebounds each for the 2-0 Eagles.

Ike Onwuzurumba led a balance All Saints (10-10) attack with 18 points (including 14 of 18 at the free throw line). Also in double figures were Sam Hughes (14), Jacob Flowers (11) and Ryan Riley (10).

Onwuzurumba had a monster game on the boards with 16 rebounds. Flowers added eight boards.

All Saints led through much of the game, including taking a 52-46 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The teams then battled back and forth with the Trojans going up 60-57 on back-to-back buckets by Onwuzurumba and Riley.

After five straight points by Tatum, the Trojans tied the game at 62-62 with 2:08 to go on two free throws by Walker Eltife.

However, the Eagles went on a 9-4 run to end the game.

Notes: Tickets are $5 (adults) and $3 (students) for each session of the Wagstaff Tournament. The morning session begins at 9 a.m. and concludes following the 3 p.m. contest. The evening session begins at 5:30 p.m. and concludes after the 8:30 p.m. game. The Wagstaff Classic, which dates back to the 1940s, is named for legendary Tyler Junior College basketball coach Floyd Wagstaff. He is a member of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and the NJCAA Hall of Fame.

ARP’S Corey Walker (right) and Canton’s Grant Franklin fight for a loose ball Thursday during the Floyd Wagstaff Holiday Classic at Tyler Junior College’s Wagstaff Gymnasium.
((Staff Photo By Jaime R. Carrero))