Junction City claims a pair of championships in Dual State Tournament

By Jacob Pumphrey
Dragon Sports Network

JUNCTION CITY, Ark. – The Junction City Lady Dragons captured their second Dual State Tournament Championship on Friday night and the program’s first since 1959, while the Dragons capped the evening with a victory over Nashville to claim the tournament title on the men’s side.

The Lady Dragons (10-1) used a strong second half to pull away from the Smackover Lady Bucks in the final two periods in a 51-22 victory. Jyrezhia Nathan led Junction City in scoring with 19 points and Khadijah Webster added 10 points inside. Sharnes McGhee delivered nine points for the Lady Bucks in the loss.

Jalen Davis and Jerodney Tubbs each produced 20 points for the Dragons in the win, while Jamarte Gilliam scored a tournament-high 32 points and Darius Hopkins followed with 14 points for the Scrappers in the loss.

The first two contests of the afternoon saw Warren earn a third-place finish in the girl’s bracket with a 36-23 win over Hermitage. Denisha Stallings led the Lady Jacks with 11 points and Tayzha Tate scored eight points for the Lady Hermits. In the boy’s consolation final, Warren topped Smackover 42-32 behind a dozen points from Nathan Hairston. Peyton Jones led the Buckaroos in scoring with a game-high 13 points.

All-Dual State Teams were announced at the conclusion of each championship game. Earning selections for the women’s team were Te’a Scott (Bearden), Dixie Puterbaugh (Warren), Tayzha Tate (Hermitage), Sharnes McGhee (Smackover), Makenzie Malone (Smackover), Camya Hamilton (Junction City), Nikayla Fisher (Junction City), and Jyrezhia Nathan (Junction City).

For the men, Cade Wilkerson (Hermitage), Camron Byes (Bearden), DeAngelo Morris (Fordyce), Bryce Lockhart (Smackover), Javion Robinson (Warren), Darius Hopkins (Nashville), C.J. Spencer (Nashville), LaJuan Hill (Junction City), Hishmma Taylor (Junction City), and Terrell Gibson (Junction City) all garnered All-Dual State honors.