The Mineral Springs Hornets fought their way into the 1A state basketball tournament at Mount Ida High School and took the hardwood in the opening round Monday night against Sacred Heart.
The Howard County Hornets won 63-52 and were scheduled to play Tuesday night against Izard County at 8:30.
Monday’s opening game saw MS edge out to an 11-10 lead before opening up a 26-18 lead at the half. MS stayed a few steps ahead in the third and outshot IC 17-15 and then closed the door on the win with a 20-19 fourth.
The Hornets were led by Darius Turner with 21 points followed by Fred Robinson with 14, Camron Perkins with 10, Kevonte Esters and Braden Williams with eight each and Raheem Brown with two points.
Score by Quarter
MS 11-15-17-20
IC 10-8-15-19
The Hornets earned their spot on the state bracket last week by placing third at the 1A Region 4 tournament held at County Line High School.
Mineral Springs posted a 63-45 win over the Scranton Rockets in the opening round before being edged by County Line, 53-50, to pit them against Mulberry/Pleasant View in the consolation game.
The Hornets secured the third-place finish by a score of 52-49 over M/PV.
Three Hornets hit in double figures to open regional play against Scranton. Turner had 16 points followed by Esters and William Dixon with 10 each. Rounding out the Hornet points were Perkins with eight, Robinson seven, Williams five, Brown three and Rayshawn Sanders two.
Score by Quarter
MS16-17-15-15
S 9-13-7-16
The Hornets closed out regional play by piling on the points against Mulberry/PV with three of them again hitting in double figures. Turner led the MS scoring with 18 followed by Robinson with 14, Esters 10, Perkins six and Williams with one.
Score by Quarter
MS11-20-11-10
M/PV 10-15-15-9
