Bobcats send the Eagles "Soring" Back to Canton

HALLSVILLE — Friday night saw Hallsville get what it wanted – a win before the Christmas break against Canton as the Bobcats outscored the Eagles, 61-49.

Hallsville now holds an overall record of 10-8 on the year.

“I was pleased with the tremendous team effort,” Hallsville head coach Rusty Walker said. “We had some guys a little bit off their game tonight and we had some other guys pick us up.

“These games, the day before a break, are often the bane of a coach’s existence because let’s be honest, everybody is ready for the break but we were home and we found a way to win. I thought our kids played well down the stretch and well enough to win.”

Shadd Berg knocked down seven three-pointers and led the Bobcats in scoring with 27 points. Derrion Harris dropped in 12 points and Jeremy Swalley came away with 10 points. Brenton Allen scored six. Ty Huff scored four and Kobe Hogan finished with two points.

Dalton Williams led the Eagles in scoring with 15 points. Colton Haley was right behind him with 14. McGuire Martin scored 11. Carter Day dropped in four points. Kyle Rose-Peterson scored three points and Cameron Sullivan finished with two points.

“I’m really proud of some of our reserves tonight,” Walker added. “As a coach, sometimes you’re just looking for somebody to step up and we had some kids step up in a big way.

“I was real excited to see Brenton Allen, who a lot of people call BA, play well in relief of Rowdy Smith.

“I was obviously really excited about the boost that Derrion Harris gave us. I thought he was a cool, calm, collective customer out there.

“I thought Brock Pucket and Cameron Bullock off the bench played their role and did what we expect. They worked for rebounds.

“There was even a stretch where a kid named Danny Marr came in and got a couple rebounds for us.”

Canton struck first on a three from Martin. Kyle Rose-Peterson found Williams for the assist to make it 5-2.

The Bobcats got on the scoreboard with a bucket from Huff.

The Eagles tacked on a pair of buckets before Swalley tipped in a missed three-pointer attempt to make the score 9-4.

Moments later, Swalley went 2-for-2 from the line to make the score 13-6. Harris drained a three from the corner to cut his team’s deficit to 15-9.

The final points of the first quarter came on a pair of free throws from Hogan as the two teams entered the second quarter with Canton leading 18-11.

Rose-Peterson drained a three for the first points of the second quarter. Three free throws from Hallsville were followed by a three from Berg to make the score 21-17.

After a pair of Canton free throws, Harris knocked down a three to make it a one-possession game. Free throws put the Bobcats within two points before Harris’ layup tied the game and Berg’s three gave Hallsville its first lead of the night, 28-25. Harris tacked on another bucket to make it 30-25, forcing Canton to call timeout with 40 seconds left in the first half.

Canton added two more points before the buzzer sounded to make it 30-28 at the half.

Martin scored the first three points of the second half from beyond the arch to give the lead back to the Eagles, 31-30. Moments later, Canton led 35-30 before Allen and Berg each drained three to put the Bobcats back on top 36-35. Berg drained another to make it 39-35. Williams’ layup cut Hallsville’s lead to 40-37 but a layup on the other end from Swalley made it 42-37 and forced the Eagles to call timeout with 1:37 left in the third quarter.

The Eagles scored the first points of the fourth quarter on a layup from Day to make the score 45-39. Berg drained yet another pair of threes to give his team a comfortable 51-39 lead. A field goal from Day made it 53-41. Williams tipped in a missed shot to make it 54-47. Swalley went 2-for-2 from the foul line to give Hallsville a 56-47 lead. The Bobcats finished the job from there at free-throw line where they sealed up the 61-49 win.

The Bobcats will return to action Thursday when they take part in the Leroy Romines Tournament in Longview. The first game is slated for 11 a.m. when they go head-to-head with the Lobos.