by GEORGE "CLAY" MITCHELL, Press Argus-Courier Sports Editor Wednesday, January 7, 2009 10:50 AM CST
The Coleman Cougars and the Alma Airedale Pups came away with some conference wins Monday night to get the new year off to a good start.
COLEMAN 41, GREENWOOD 36
BOYS - Greenwood may have led 11-10 after the first quarter, but Coleman came back and outscored the Bullpups 31-25 in the remaining three quarters.
Devon Goodwin paced Coleman with 20 points and Nathan Fort added 10. Dillon Plunkett chipped in six.
ALMA 45, RAMSEY 43
BOYS - Weston Peters hit a pair of free throws with 40 seconds remaining in the game to put Alma up by four and the Airedale Pups held on to win.
Alma trailed 15-7 at the end of the first quarter, but the squad was able to rally back to hold a small lead at the break, 18-17.
Dee Candelaria hit a three pointer that helped put some distance between Alma and Ramsey.
Candelaria finished with 24 points and Jake Martin added 14.
Overall, Alma (9-5 overall, 4-2 River Valley Conference) shot 10 of 13 from the free-throw line. Coach Eddie Corder said it was the free-throw shooting that made the difference in the ball game.
The Airedalette Pups fell 30-23 to the Lady Rams.
GREENWOOD 45, COLEMAN 40
GIRLS - The Lady Bullpups overcame a first-half deficit to rally past Coleman.
Coleman held a 31-26 lead at the break, but Greenwood cut the lead by one (38-37) heading into the final quarter of play.
Hannah Patterson paced Coleman with 16 points, all in the first half. Paige Breckner chipped in nine and Courtney Moore added seven for the Lady Cougars.
Three players scored all the points for Greenwood.
PLEASANT VIEW 31, CEDARVILLE 26 (2OT)
The Lady Hornets and Cedarville battled back and forth, but it was the Plesean View squad that came away with the non-conference win Monday.
Pleseant View led 7-4 at the end of the first quarter, but both teams were tied up at the break (12-12).
Cedarville trailed (21-20) going into the final quarter of play. Both teams were tied up at the end of the fourth (26-26) and by the same score at the conclusion of the first overtime period.
Kelsey Marvin led all scorers with 12 followed by Kealsie Frazier's 11.
The junior Lady Pirates was paced by Britney Campbell with 10 and Harley Moore with six.
Both Cedarville squads travel to County Line for a tournament Saturday. The junior girls begin play at 7 p.m. and the boys start at 8:30 p.m.
Alma at Union Christian Tournament
Alma defeated Greenwood 46-40 to win the holiday tournament in Fort Smith.
Candelaria had 16 points in the fourth quarter and finished with 27.
Alma was down as the team struggled at the free-throw line, according to Corder. Candelaria hit a three-point shot that put the Airedale Pups in the lead for good.
Martin finished with a team-high seven rebounds.
Peters, who had six rebounds, made two free throws in the final two seconds that gave Alma the lead to beat Booneville 42-40 in the semifinals.
Candelaria paced Alma with 17 points and Martin had 14 points and eight rebounds.
Alma opened tournament play with a win over Poteau.
Josh Lohman had 13 points, while Martin added 12 points and five rebounds. Candelaria had nine points and five assists.
The Airedalettes finished second at the tournament.
