Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

GHS To Play Here Sat. In Finals

Sparkman's Raiders were plundered by Gurdon's Go-Devils Tuesday, Feb. 10.

Ending its regular season, the Devil crew traveled the short distance to Sparkman and soundly whipped the Raiders 75-41. This gave Gurdon's senior boys a 9-1 conference record and an overall mark of 18-2.

Sparkman never stood a chance. The Devils opened with a 16-5 run in the first quarter, and maintained the lead 32-23 at the break.

The third quarter saw Gurdon's up and down offense do exactly that run up and down the court, scoring almost at will. By the time the third period was finished, the score was 63-29.

The Raiders found out why Gurdon is the top ranked team in class A basketball in the state, as the defense allowed only six points in the third frame.

Coach John Ware cleared his bench, making sure all players saw action in the final eight minutes.

Demond Beasley was the lone Devil in double figures, as he scored 24.

Hall and Hughes led Sparkman with 12 each.

Gurdon didn't shoot well at the line, converting only two of eight, while the host team was 13 of 27.

While Ware and the Devils didn't overlook the Raiders at the end of the season, all eyes are now focused on the district tournament to be played in Gurdon.

Ware said the people need to come out and watch these games as some good basketball will be played all week.

All the senior girls action should be good, he said, while the early senior boys games could easily see some unexpected results.

Genoa Central lost close at Nevada earlier in the season, Ware said, and now the Blue Jays have their coach (Glyndon Franklin) back. "They could make a run," he said.

Stamps finished third in the 7A Cental behind Gurdon and Stephens. The Yellow Jackets could also prove to be a factor in the district tilt.

Ware said Stephens, scheduled to play Friday night in the semi-finals, had better not look past anyone as the winner meets Gurdon in the finals for all the marbles.

The Roadrunners picked up a player at semester who was the team's leading scorer last year. Grades, though, saw this Roadrunner sit out the first half of the season.

The top four teams from the district will go on to the regional tournament in Centerpoint, Feb. 23-28, with the top two finishers heading to the state battle in Flippin.

Ware said the Devils will have to win at least two games in the regional tourney in order to go to state. By virtue of being conference champions, the Devils had an automatic bid to district.

Looking at how teams finished in the district, Gurdon was first with a 9-1 record. The Devils were followed by Stephens at 8-2, while Stamps and Nevada were tied for third with 5-5 marks. Genoa Central was fifth at 2-8, while Lewisville brought up the rear with a 1-9 record.

"I think Stamps will surprise some," Ware said. "They had rough going early on."

But, he said, so did the Devils. The Gurdon football team went two weeks into the playoffs. As several members of the basketball team are also on the grid squad, this meant little practice time early in the season.

With Gurdon being the only school in the 7A Central in the football playoffs, all other teams were working on their basketball skills while the Devils were concentrating on trying to win a state championship in football.

The Devils also were unable to play two early basketball games, against Prescott and Blevins. Blevins canceled a game because of scheduling conflicts. This served to put Gurdon's roundball crew behind as well.

"We had a lot to get through early," Ware said. "They had to get mentally into the game and they did. I'm proud of these kids."

He said each member of the team knows their role on the court, and everyone plays hard.

Now, Ware said, every team's record is 0-0. The playoffs are a new season altogether one loss and the campaign ends.

"They're enjoying what they've done," he said, "but I need them to know it's a new season a one game season. Win and you move on, lose and you go home. We've worked hard to put ourselves in this situation."

Monday's senior boys game featured Nevada at Genoa, while Tuesday saw Stamps and Lewisville tangle. The winners of these two games hit the hardwood Thursday, with the victor moving on to Friday's semi-final action against Stephens.

Saturday's final will pit Friday's winner against Gurdon.

On the girl's side of the bracket, play opened with Genoa Central and Stamps Monday, followed by Nevada and Lewisville Tuesday night.

These winners are scheduled to meet Thursday, with the survivor of this contest to meet the conference co-champion Lady Devils Friday at 6:30 p.m.

Friday's winner has a 6:30 p.m. date with Stephens in the finals.

All games will begin at 6:30 nightly with senior girls hitting the parquet first, followed by the senior boys' games.