FORDYCE - Sophomore Caden Tarkinton scored 10 of his game-high 17 points in the fourth quarter as the Acorn Tigers pulled away from a tie game midway through the final period to knock off the Woodlawn Bears, 57-50, in the first round of the Class 2A South Region Tournament at FBT Redbug Arena in Fordyce.
The loss ended the season for the Bears, who finished with a final record 15-10 overall. Woodlawn was the no. 2 seed from the 8-2A conference while Acorn was the no. 3 seed from the 7-2A.
Acorn turned out to be the sleeper team of the tournament, knocking off 7-2A conference champion Dierks in the second round before finally succumbing to 8-2A champ Fordyce, 73-69, in double overtime on the Redbugs' home court.
Woodlawn had managed to survive six 3-pointers by Acorn in the first half to hold a 31-30 lead at halftime. But the Tigers came out in the third quarter with a quick layup from Noah Holland and a couple of free throws from Austin Davis to take a 34-31 lead.
Acorn would never trail the rest of the game, though Woodlawn was able to draw even a couple of times.
The first came at the 3:51 mark of the third quarter when Raylon Lawson drilled a trey to tie it up 36-36. However, Davis answered with a jumper to put the Tigers back in front.
Woodlawn managed to tie it up again with 5:28 left in the game when senior Landen Booth spotted up for a 3 to make it 46-46. However, Acorn came back with a 10-1 run, utilizing a number of back-door layups to put the Tigers up 56-47 with less than two minutes left. Jaxson Martin hit another 3-pointer to make it a two-possession game, 56-50, late but the Tigers held on for the seven-point victory.
Bears Coach Logan Adair said he knew going in that it was going to be a tough opening round matchup due to the Tigers' style of play and their 6-4 point guard Brylan Bohlman.
Adair called Bohlman one of the best passers he has seen at the Class 2A level, an...
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