Quitman High School hosted their annual tournament this past Thursday and Friday as 10 schools played 16 games on the two courts of the Ruston Sports Complex.  When all the dust had settled it was the Jonesboro-Hodge boys and the Quitman girls that made the biggest strides winning two of the three games they played. The Quitman boys lost two of three against stiff competition and the JHHS girls fell in both of their contests. 

Games of Thursday, November 30

Cedar Creek 64 JHHS 37 (boys) Playing in their own hometown, Cedar Creek jumped out to a 20-5 first quarter lead and never looked back. Trailing 40-13 at the half, JHHS finally started to find the range and outscored the Cougars 21-12 in the third quarter but scoring only three points in the final frame provided the dagger that dropped the Tigers to their third straight opening season loss. Chance Leonard scored 12 points to lead J-H followed closely by Daelan Boston with eight. Dewayne Palmer also contributed six points in the contest that saw the Tigers make only 13 field goals. Cedar Creek had three players reach double digits in scoring with Jake Doan leading the way with 18 points. Connor Johnson added 15 and Jack Bell scored 10 for the Cougars who improved to 3-2 on the year with the victory. 

Quitman 63 Plain Dealing 33 (Girls) Cali Deal had a game for the ages as she outscored Plain Dealing all by herself to lead the Lady Wolverines to the 30 point victory. Holding a slim 12-10 lead after one period of play, Quitman went off for 39 points over the next two quarters while holding Plain Dealing to just 11 ro open a 51-21 bulge. Deal, who made 12 of 18 shots and went 10/12 from the line scored 10 of her career high 34 points in the third quarter alone. Anna Leach and Taylor Bond chipped in with 7 and 6 points respectively while A Palmer, Hallie Kate Pullig, and Ava Caskey finished with four each. Jaleigh Burns and Taylor Harvey tallied two apiece to round out the Lady Wolverines best offensive performance of the year that upped their record to 4-1 on the season. 

Hornbeck 64 JHHS 30 (Girls): McKenzie Bradford hit a pair of threes in the third quarter for JHHS en route to a team high ten points but Hornbeck was simply to strong from the start as the short handed, Lady Tigers fell to 2-5 on the year. Morgan McGee scored seven and Sanaa Tatum added six for JHHS. Nesha Johnson finished with four and Jalenya Jackson sank a three pointer to round out the scoring for J-H, who was playing without starter, Tyya Davis. 

Ruston 64 Quitman 50 (boys): No one can say that QHS head coach Mike Black gave his host Wolverines the easiest tourney schedule. Not after pitting his squad against defending Class 5A state semi-finalist Ruston. Behind tremendous long range accuracy of Logan Ponder and Eli Walker for three quarters Quitman played the bigger Bearcats to within one point but a 17 point Ruston run in the second quarter proved to be the difference. Ponder hit 8 of 14 shots, including being a perfect 3/3 from behind the arc to lead the Wolverines with 22 points. Walker also played fabulously making 7-8 shots and three of four three’s he took to finish with 17 points.  Gavyn Caskey scored five, and both Noah Leach and Brayden Smith tallied three in Quitman’s fourth straight game against a school from a high classification and second Class 5A school. 

JHHS 44 Hornbeck 43 (boys) Symeon Malone climaxed his career best scoring performance by putting back an offensive rebound as time was running out to lift JHHS to their first victory of the season in their second game of the day. Malone and Chase Leonard, on the strength of four 3-pointers led the Tigers with 14 points apiece. Daelan Boston chipped in with six second half points followed by JaDarrion Brown and Za’Mauryian Palmer who finished with four each. Skylar Strickland also added a basket to help JHHS stop a season opening three game losing streak. 

Games of Friday, December 1st

Quitman 81 D’Arbonne Woods 54 (boys) Playing their fifth straight game against a school from a higher classification, Quitman exploded for a season high 81 points to blow away the Class 3A opponent. Up 20-11 after the first 12 minutes, the difference in the contest was the Wolverines besting DWC 27-9 in the second quarter to take a commanding 47-20 lead into the break as both teams scored 34 points in the second half. QHS shot a season best 60% field goal percentage on 27-45 shooting that included an impressive 11 three pointers in 21 attempts (52%). Four players reached  double figures in scoring led by 20 points from Logan Ponder. Noah Leach added 13, Brayden Smith 12, and Larson Thomas scored a career high 11 after going 3/3 from behind the arc.  Braden Marten and Eli Walker added seven points each, Grant Williams finished with five and both Abel Leach and Shane Reed tallied two as ten players scored in the contest that saw QHS run the record to 9-3 on the year. 

TEAM	1	2	3	4	TOTAL
QHS (9-3)	20	27	22	12	81
DWC (4-4)	11	9	22	12	54

Haughton 36 Quitman 33 (girls) Quitman had a shot rim out to tie the game as the clock wound down but gave undefeated Class 5A Haughton, ranked 6th in Division I, all they wanted in the first of two games the Lady Wolverines would play on Friday. Quitman actually held a 29-28 lead in the defensive battle with a little over two minutes left before the L:ady Bucs, who was held to their lowest scoring total of the year, rallied late to win their 10th straight to start the season. Once again, Cali Deal led the Lady Wolverines in scoring with 16 but it was a season best 13 points by Anna Leach that stole the show after her 8 second quarter points on the strength of a pair of three pointers got Quitman back into the contest after being held to just two points in the opening frame. Taylor Harvey and Jaleigh Burns added two each.

TEAM	1	2	3	4	TOTAL
Quitman (6-6)	2	10	7	14	33
Haughton (10-0)	7	8	9	12	36

JHHS 52 Summerfield 35 (Boys) After putting an end to one streak the Tigers started another by tying a season best in scoring and allowing the fewest scored against them this season to win a second straight. Three baskets by Za’Mauryian Palmer and a pair of threes by Chance Leonard along with five points by DaMarious Burns lifted the Tigers to a 21-9 advantage in the fourth quarter that put the game away. Nine players scored for JHHS led by Burns with a career high 13 points and Palmer who also reached double digits in scoring with ten. JaDarrion Brown netted nine and Chance Leonard hit a pair of three pointers to give him six points. Symeon Malone finished with five, Daelan Boston had four and both Ariy’un Bradford and Dewayne Palmer scored two each. D’Marrion Thompson added a free throw. Marquez Tate scored a game high 23 points to lead Summerfield who had three others score four points each. 

TEAM	1	2	3	4	TOTAL
JHHS (2-3)	10	11	10	21	52
SHS (1-4)	8	6	12	9	35

Quitman 56 Hornbeck 44 (girls): Jaleigh Burns made the first four points of the fourth quarter and the last two. In between Cali Deal scored 12 of her game high 22 points to help Quitman outlast Hornbeck in the second of two games the Lady Wolverines would play on Friday and third in two days. Burns and Anna Leach, who both finished with 15 points, along with Deal shot a combined 18-22 from the field and 7 of 8 from the three point line as they scored all but four of Quitman’s points in the first contest between the two teams in over 15 years. The victory moves Quitman to 7-6 on the year while Hornbeck fell to 8-3 this season.

TEAMS	1	2	3	4	TOTAL
Quitman (7-6)	11	12	15	18	56
Hornbeck (8-3)	7	11	13	13	44

Summerfield 60 JHHS 33 (Girls): A 17-4 deficit after the first quarter left the Lady Tigers in a hopeless position against the Class C perennial power. Tyya Davis returned from a one game absence to pace JHHS with 10 points. JaMauri Kimble scored six and both Sanaa Tatum and McKenzie Bradford finished with five. Angel Moss scored four, LeRonda McGuire two and Morgan McGee hit a free throw to round out the Lady Tigers scoring. 

TEAM	1	2	3	4	TOTAL
Jonesboro-Hodge (2-6)	4	8	10	11	33
Summerfield (6-3)	17	15	19	9	60

Hornbeck 65 Quitman 57 (boys) In the final of the 16 game tournament, Quitman rallied from 14 down in the fourth quarter to tie only to fall to a late Hornbeck run in the final two minutes. Down 52-38, Gavin Caskey sank a three and Braden Marten made five consecutive points to narrow the margin to 54-46.  Logan Ponder then took over to score the next eight points to bring Quitman even at 54 but Hornbeck then went on a 11-3 run at the end to improve to 7-4 on the year and drop Quitman to a 9-4 mark after losing two of the three games played in the tourney. Ponder led the Wolverines in scoring with 18 followed by 14 from Brayden Smith and 12 by Braden Marten. Gavyn Caskey scored 7 and Eli Walker finished with five. 

TEAM	1	2	3	4	TOTAL
Quitman 9-4)	10	11	14	22	57
Hornbeck (7-4)	19	11	18	17	65

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