Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Go-Devils Take 2 In SWAR Tournament

Two games, two wins for Gurdon's senior basketball teams in the Southwest Arkansas Invitational Tournament in Saratoga.

Gurdon's Go Devils edged the Genoa Central Dragons 59-51 in a hard-fought battle Saturday afternoon.

Coach John Ware had his charges racing up and down the court throughout the contest, but the holiday layoff did have its effect on the squad.

While the Devils were faster than the Dragons, the helter-skelter pace resulted in several unforced turnovers, which allowed Genoa to stay in the game.

The Devils opened by taking a 16-14 first quarter lead, pushing this to a 25-20 advantage at the half.

In the third period, Gurdon stretched its lead to 10 at 45-35, but was unable to administer the knockout punch as Genoa battled back in the final eight minutes.

Ware subbed early and often to prevent his players from getting overtly leg weary after the layoff, but made sure the defensive pressure was relentless against the Dragons.

On the other hand, the Dragons made life tough on the Devils as they refused to go away and wouldn't give up.

This game could be vital to the Devils later on in the tournament, as the contests only get more difficult

Tonight, they have a date with the Nashville Scrappers at 6 o'clock, after the Scrappers hammered Delight Saturday evening.

Nashville will have a taller team, but one with fewer games under its belt. The Scrapper football team won the AA State Championship, which kept several basketball players on the football field through most of December.

However, the Nashville crew is fast and showed jumping ability against the Bulldogs. Nashville also has a full bench to draw from.

LADY DEVILS 66

LADY 'DOGS 37

Gurdon's Lady Devils showed no mercy as they haunted Delight in the opening game of the Saratoga tourney, posting a 66-37 win.

The Lady Bulldogs were never in the game, as Gurdon's girls jumped all over them early and continued with their overwhelming pressure.

The Lady Devils began the game with a 17-6 lead at the end of one. The KO came early as Gurdon widened its margin to 37-17 by halftime and made sure Delight had no fantasies of getting back into the game.

The Lady Devils kept the heat on in the third period as the game got ugly at 49-28.

Gurdon had the advantage from the outset, as the Lady Devils had more players to install when necessary as Delight had eight players total. Three of these players had knee braces, with one of them wearing braces on both legs.

In addition, Gurdon's girls were taller and more physical inside than were the Lady 'Dogs.

The one problem the Lady Devils had came at the charity stripe, where they shot less than 50 percent for the game.

In spite of their free throw problems, the Lady Devils were still the superior team on the floor.

Gurdon's girls will face another team of Bulldogs when they return to the court Thursday night and tangle with host team Saratoga.

Tipoff for this game is set for 6 p.m.