High School Sports

By CHRIS PARRY
Staff Writer

The Floyd Wagstaff Holiday Classic will conclude Saturday in its usual fashion - with Whitehouse in the championship.

The Wildcats took care of the particulars Friday in the semifinals, defeating Bullard, 58-38. Whitehouse (14-1) will face Jacksonville (13-4), which knocked off Lindale 73-57 in the other semifinal. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. at Wagstaff Gymnasium.

Whitehouse is in the championship for a fourth straight year, but will look to snap a two-game losing streak in the title game. In 2003, the Wildcats were stopped by Bullard and last year a high-flying Whitehouse team was stunned by Lindale.

Senior guard Kyle Ford, who led Whitehouse with 18 points in Friday's win, said the team is committed to breaking through and winning this tournament.

"I think we've got a great shot and when we play together, there's not many teams out there that can beat us," Ford said. "We just have to concentrate on our defense. Last year, Lindale beat us by one point, but they were scoring all over inside. I think our defense, if we focus on that, we can win."

Whitehouse junior post Jacob Holmen had 16 points, seven rebounds and five blocks while senior Cade Clark chipped in 12 points and seven boards.

The defending champion Lindale Eagles were aiming for a chance to repeat, but Jacksonville jumped ahead early and maintained at least a six-point edge the rest of the way in its 16-point victory.

Jacksonville guard Jay Jimenez led all players with 22 points and six rebounds and two blocks while Jeremy Chappelle had 19 points and Donovan Bridgeforth finished with 13.

Lindale was led in the loss by 18 points from Imran Chotanni and 15 points and six rebounds from Cameron Dossey.

Zach Evans also finished in double figures with 10.

"Lindale has a great team ... they played us well, but I think over time the depth on my bench wore them out," said Jacksonville head coach Roynal Bridgeforth. "As long as I've been in Jacksonville, I don't think we've ever even been in the final, so it feels good to be in it. I'm excited about it."

Whitehouse 58, Bullard 38

The Wildcats took a workmanlike 13-5 lead at the end of the first quarter, thanks to four points apiece from Clark and Holman. Meanwhile, Whitehouse limited Bullard to 2-for-10 shooting in the opening period.

Bullard (12-6) cut its deficit under 10 at the start of the second, thanks to the first of two 3-pointers by Austin Camp. Whitehouse answered with a 6-1 run to push it back to double-digits. The Wildcats never led by less than 10 after that.

Trailing 30-16 at halftime, Bullard clawed back to within 11 points in the third period. The Panthers held Whitehouse to six points in the frame while Lance Anding and Daniel Howard provided the offense to make it 36-25 going into the fourth.

Ford ended any hopes of a Bullard comeback. In the early minutes of the fourth period, Ford drained two 3-pointers and converted five free throws as Whitehouse went on a 20-3 run to put the game away.

Bullard was led by nine points from Camp. Anding chipped in seven and Charlie Moore finished with six points and four rebounds.

Bullard will face Lindale in the third-place game at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

Jacksonville 73, Lindale 57

The Indians pushed out to an 18-10 lead in the first period, thanks to eight points by Chappelle and 10 from Jimenez.

Lindale (9-7) steadied the ship with a 6-0 run at the start of the second to pull within a basket, 18-16 on a layup from Cedric Jones. Jimenez was fouled on a 3-pointer with 28 seconds remaining. He converted all three free-throws to give the Indians a 30-25 lead at halftime.

Lindale continued to stay within striking distance of Jacksonville in the third, but couldn't pull even. The Eagles got within three points twice early in the third on a basket by Dossey and layup from Jones.

With the score at 36-33, Donovan Bridgeforth drained a 3-pointer and drove in for a layup to give Jacksonville a 41-33 lead with 3:16 left in the third. Lindale was able to get within five points, 53-48, midway through the fourth on a basket by Jones, but Jacksonville outscored Lindale 20-9 the rest of the way.

LINDALE’S Imran Chotanni ducks under two Jacksonville defenders while driving to the basket Friday at Tyler Junior College’s Wagstaff Gymnasium.
((Staff Photo By Mark Roberts))