Sports and Outdoors

 Lake Info

Normal Lake Level is 322.00 feet above Mean Sea Level.
Current level for Cedar Creek Lake is: 321.07
Water Temperature:
na degrees - top
50 degrees - bottom

SCURRY-ROSSER–Eustace’s Bulldogs split two nail-biting contests in the first day of the third annual Scurry-Rosser Holiday Classic basketball tournament.
Following the tournament, the Bulldogs were scheduled to visit Trinidad Friday, Jan. 4, with a 4:30 p.m. junior varsity contest opening a two-game slate.
The Bulldogs will travel to Cross Roads Tuesday, Jan. 8, opening with a 5 p.m. freshman contest.
Eustace will open District 13-3A play on the road against the Kemp Yellowjackets Friday, Jan. 11, opening with a 4:30 p.m. sub-varsity contest.
In their first-round contest at Scurry-Rosser High School Dec. 27, the Bulldogs fought back from an eight-point halftime deficit to nip the West Rusk Raiders 64-63.
Later that day, the Palmer Bulldogs handed the Eustace Bulldogs a narrow 55-52 defeat in overtime.

Monitor Photo/Kerry Yancey
Eustace Bulldog Zach Keeling (5) goes up for a shot over West Rusk Raider Markoay Carldwell (34) during Eustace’s 64-63 win over the Raiders in the first round of the Scurry-Rosser Holiday Classic basketball tournament Dec. 27.

In the tournament opener against West Rusk, Eustace opened an 11-6 lead, but the Raiders forged a 23-10 second-quarter run to take a 29-21 halftime lead.
After the intermission, the Bulldogs turned the tables, forging a 24-9 third-quarter run that gave them a 45-38 lead heading into the final stanza.
West Rusk outscored the Bulldogs 25-19 in the fourth quarter, but Eustace managed to hold off the Raiders to secure the one-point win.
Russell Templeton led the Bulldogs with 22 points, as David Graves added 12 points and Zach Keeling had nine.
Also, Jacob Horton scored seven points, Colton Thomsen had five, Frankie Lopez scored four, Byron Whitlock added three and Johnny Lee scored two points.
A trio of Raiders – Brandon Thurman, Reggi Wallace and Markoay Carldwell – all scored 14 points each.
In the nightcap, Eustace outscored Palmer 11-8 in both the first and second quarters to take a 22-16 halftime lead.
Palmer came back to outscore Eustace 11-8 in the third quarter and 20-17 in the fourth to tie the contest at 47-all at the end of regulation time.
In the overtime period, Palmer edged Eustace 8-5 to take the three-point win.
Lopez led Eustace with 12 points, as Templeton had 11 and Thomsen nine.
Also, Keeling and David Graves each had five points, Horton and Lee each had four points and Whitlock scored two points.
Palmer’s Trenton Harris led all scorers with 26 points, as T.J. Barnes added 13.
 

Panthers looking to up the tempo this year
Monitor Staff Reports
MABANK–Excellent quickness and more than the usual dose of team speed may make the difference for the Mabank Panthers this year.
Last year’s Panthers went 5-5 in a much stronger District 13-3A, which featured two regional quarterfinalists in Kemp and Kaufman.
“We’ve got a lot of team speed, and a good group of sophomores,” veteran Mabank coach Mark Allen said. “We could be pretty good – the potential is there, although there’s a lot of inexperience.”
Two starters return from last year’s squad, senior guard Haydon Blair and junior forward Kolton Browning, and senior post Bobby Gaddis got in some playing time last year – but that’s it for varsity experience.
All three were standouts on the varsity football team (Browning was the district MVP, Blair a first-team wideout and Gaddis a second-team defensive lineman), and took a couple of weeks to ease into basketball mode.
Three other seniors are out this year – guard Albin Gashi, forward Chris Tull and forward Caleb McKee.
Of the three, Gashi has moved into the starting lineup and posted impressive numbers early.
“He’s quick and one of the better ball-handlers around,” Allen said.
Three juniors – guard Cameron Tucker, forward Oliver Wedemeyer and post Scott Hall – are joined by four sophomores, Griffin Marshall, Jacob Woodard, Tray Phillips and Tyler Fisher.
“Kolton (a first-team all-district pick as a sophomore last year) and Haydon (a second-team pick) come in with credentials,” Allen said. “Everyone else is unproven.”
That said, the Panthers have done pretty well early on against some stiff competition, and Allen said team chemistry is part of the reason.
“The guys seem to enjoy each other’s company. That makes a difference,” he said. “A lot of these guys do things together off the floor. They’re all stepping up and playing pretty well now.
“Just about every game, we’ve had at least three (score) in double figures, and a couple of times we had five in double figures,” he said. “One or two of these guys don’t start – they come off the bench – and that gives our offense a good shot in the arm.
“That (balanced scoring) means we are spreading the ball around pretty good,” he added. “That’s what every coach likes to have.”
Allen has the Panthers running the floor as much as possible to take advantage of that quickness and team speed. “We want to try and make it as much of an up-and-down game as we can,” he said.
The Panthers went into the Christmas break fairly healthy, with a lot more depth than in past years.
“We’ll be playing about 10 guys at some point in just about any ballgame,” Allen said.
Mabank wasn’t considered one of the district playoff front-runners heading into the season.
“In the pre-season, the coaches picked, in no particular order, Kaufman, Crandall and Ferris,” Allen said. “Right now, we’re not on the radar screen. Most of that is all the inexperience, plus going 5-5 last year. I think we’ve got a chance to be in there at the end.”
 

Tigers claw Kemp
Monitor Staff Reports
WILLS POINT–The hosting Wills Point Tigers blew past the visiting Kemp Yellowjackets 55-35 during a non-district contest Dec. 18.
Following the Christmas break, the Yellowjackets were scheduled to play in the Kaufman Holiday Classic basketball tournament Dec. 27-29.
Friday, Jan. 4, the ’Jackets travel to Palestine for a non-district contest, opening with a 5 p.m. freshman game, and Tuesday, Jan. 8, Kemp will host the Canton Eagles in the final non-district game, with a 4:30 p.m. freshman contest beginning a three-game slate.
Friday, Jan. 11, the ’Jackets will open District 13-3A play at home against the Eustace Bulldogs.
At Wills Point, the hosting Tigers opened a 16-6 lead in the first quarter, and outscored Kemp 9-7 in the second quarter to take a 12-point halftime lead, 25-13.
In the third quarter, the Tigers went on a 22-8 run to open a 26-point lead heading into the final stanza.
Kemp was able to cut the final margin to 20 points in the fourth quarter.
Junior Ethan Dunagan led the ’Jackets with 10 points, as Chase Traughber added seven.
Both James Trim and Jeremy Quick scored six points each, with Chas Gipson adding four, Terrence Sistrunk had two points and Joseph Weeks added a free throw.
Steven Cunigan led the Tigers with 13 points and Mark Barefield added 10.
Wills Point also won the junior varsity game, 67-27.