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, and for that reason, the game plan was to keep him away from the wings where he has done much…