Lamar's seasons end at South State tourney

By By Ryan Satcher / staff writer
Feb. 12, 2004
JACKSON The Lamar Raiders laid it all on the line on Wednesday night against Central Private in the MPSA Class AAA South State Tournament at Hillcrest Christian School, but they came up short in a 58-55 loss.
The Lady Raiders also finished their season with a 58-29 loss to Central Private in girls' action.
Just days after losing to the Rebels in double overtime, the fourth-seeded Raiders once again pushed No. 1-seeded Central Private to the limits but couldn't come away with the victory.
The Raiders took an early lead as David Haggard and Brannon Harrison sent Lamar on an early run. Haggard scored six points and Harrison added four to give Lamar a 10-5 lead, with 2:45 to play in the first quarter.
Austin Roebuck made the score 12-5 with a basket, and the Raiders closed out the quarter with a 14-9 lead.
But the lead quickly fell apart in the second quarter, as the Rebels scored the first eight points of the quarter to take a 17-14 lead.
Lamar got a bucket from Jason Strickland with 5:24 left in the half to cut the Raiders' deficit to 17-16.
Central Private answered with a 6-0 run in the next two minutes of play and later stretched the lead out to 10 points, with two minutes left in the half.
Lamar was able to battle back with a basket from Nathan Harrison and a bucket from Matthew Fort to make the score 34-28 at half.
The Raiders came back in the opening minutes of the second half and cut the lead to two points on a basket by Haggard, with 3:58 left to play in the third.
After a bucket from the Rebels, Roebuck scored two and Taylor Dean got a basket in transition to tie the game.
The two teams traded baskets in the rest of the fast-paced third quarter, until Central Private got a three-pointer from Kurt Perkins and a basket from Travis McGraw to stretch out a five-point lead.
Then disaster began to strike for the Raiders. With just over 11 seconds left in the third, Haggard went down with a leg injury that kept him sidelined for the rest of the game.
After a basket by Brannon Harrison cut the lead to three points, Roebuck picked up his fifth foul and had to leave the game for Lamar.
Central Private began to hold the ball out and wasted much of the fourth quarter, but the Raiders continued to battle without their leading scorers.
A three-pointer by Dean with 1:13 left to play cut the lead down to 56-52 and, after a missed free throw by the Rebels, Nathan Harrison came through with a bucket to cut the lead to two.
Perkins hit two free throws for Central Private with 30 seconds left to stretch the lead out, and Lamar was unable to connect on its first couple of three-point opportunities.
Finally with four seconds left, Fort put up a three from the corner. He was fouled on the play, but the shot came up short.
The Raiders were able to cut the lead down to 58-55 and send the Rebels to the foul line. Central Private missed its free throw and the Raiders were able to get off a desperation three-pointer, but the shot was no good and the Rebels advanced in the tournament.
Roebuck led the Raiders with 13 points, and Haggard finished with 10. Josh Wall scored 26 points for Central Private in the victory. The Raiders finished 16-11 for the season.
Central Private (girls) 58
Lamar 29
The Lady Raiders could not overcome the Kirkwood sisters, as Central Private stormed to a 58-29 victory.
Stefanie, Samantha and Sonni Kirkwood combined to score 40 points for the Lady Rebels in the victory.
Stefanie Kirkwood, a junior, scored 20 points, and Samantha Kirkwood added 13 to lead Central Private.
Lamar was able to hang with the Lady Rebels in the first quarter and trailed 10-7 with a minute left in the first.
Central Private scored seven unanswered points in the final minute and outscored Lamar 12-3 in the first three minutes of the second quarter to take control of the game.
Lamar continued to battle and fought back to 29-15 at half. Cheryl Luquire opened the second half with a three-pointer to cut the lead down to 11 points, but Central Private took control from there.
The Lady Rebels scored 16 straight points and allowed just two Lamar points in the final seven minutes of the quarter to take a 47-20 lead.
Central Private outscored the Lady Raiders 11-9 in the fourth quarter to take the 58-29 victory. Lamar finished the season with a 12-18 record.