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.

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JUNCTION CITY, Ark. – The first day of the 86^th Dual State Tournament concluded with the Fordyce, Nashville and Junction City boys and Hermitage girls claiming wins to open tourney play on Tuesday afternoon inside Dragon Arena.

It is the first time since 1954 that the tournament has been played in a different venue after Junction City unveiled the 1,800-seat Dragon Arena earlier this winter.

The Fordyce boys team captured a 50-42 victory over Warren in the tournament opener. The Redbugs led 17-2 midway through the first half and fought off a surging Lumberjack squad, which claimed a 40-39 lead with less than three minutes to play, in the final two periods. De’Angelo Morris led the Redbugs with 17 points and Javion Robinson scored a game-high 18 points in a losing effort for the Lumberjacks. The win sets up Fordyce’s third meeting with 6-3A foe Junction City tomorrow at 6:30 p.m.

In the first girls contest of the tournament, Hermitage topped Bearden 32-22. Tayzha Tate led the Lady Hermit effort with 17 points, while Bearden’s Maleka Berry paced the Lady Bears with a team-high eight points. Hermitage will play Junction City tomorrow beginning at 5:15 p.m., while Bearden will not play again until Thursday as they await the loser of the Warren/Smackover matchup, which tips tomorrow at 2:45 p.m.

The third contest of the evening saw the Nashville boys team handle Smackover 52-27, behind Ricardo Garcia’s 19 points. Nashville controlled the tempo early on and took advantage of several fast break opportunities, while never allowing the Buckaroos to comfortably work their offense throughout the contest. Bryce Lockhart led Smackover in scoring with ten points. Nashville returns to the court at 4 p.m. tomorrow to face Bearden, which claimed a first-round bye in the tournament. Smackover will play the Junction City/Fordyce loser on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday’s nightcap featured host Junction City cruising to their eighth victory of the season with a 59-30 victory over Hermitage. The Dragons raced to a 22-9 lead in the first half to set the pace in the contest and were led by LaJuan Hill’s 10 points, while Jalen Davis and Shuvasceiaye Frazier added eight points each. Cade Wilkerson led a trio of Hermit big men with 13 points. Junction City will again be featured in the tournament’s nightcap as they matchup with Fordyce tomorrow night.

Live streaming of all the tournament action can be found exclusively on the Dragon Sports Network: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/jc-dragons-football?utm_source=crowd-live-backend&utm_medium=visit-channel&utm_campaign=notifications.

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