WARREN — After seven meetings in three years, Magnolia still has Watson Chapel’s number, among others.
Third-ranked Magnolia on Saturday defeated fifth-ranked Watson Chapel in the 4A South Region championship game for the third consecutive year, winning 53-44 at the recently opened Lumberjack Arena. The Panthers, seeking to defend their 4A state championship, ended a 17-game winning streak for the Wildcats and improved to 7-0 against their former Conference 4A-8 rivals since the 2020-21 season.
“The thing about Magnolia is they feel like they’re going to win every time they step on the court,” Wildcats Coach Jevon Barnes said. “Even with them losing their star player in Derrian Ford [now at the University of Arkansas], you still got Nevi [Tell, the Panthers’ point guard], and they just get on the court and everyone knows their role. They play to win.”
Tell and center Jase Carter each had 16 points for the Panthers (24-1), who have won 53 of 54 games since the start of last season. Amare Roach added 10 points.
“Magnolia’s been successful for a long time,” Panthers Coach Ben Lindsey said. “We’re just keeping the tradition going. We’ve had a lot of success against Watson Chapel, but we’ve been fortunate because they’ve all been like that. They’re all very tough games.”
The runner-up finish means Watson Chapel (26-7) will next play Brookland (25-7) in the first round of the 4A state playoffs at Blytheville High School at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. Brookland beat Robinson 60-54 in the third-place game of the East Region.
The winner between Watson Chapel and Brookland will play North runner-up Dardanelle in the quarterfinals.
“Just doing what we’ve been doing to get to where we are today,” Barnes said, will be crucial in Watson Chapel’s hunt for its first state championship since 1999. “If we just be the best brand of us, the sky’s the limit. We’ve just got to take it one game at a time. These things happen.”
Magnolia earned a first-round bye and will play either Fountain Lake or Little Rock Christian Academy.
The Panthers never trailed and got 10 first-half points by Tell, who also had 5 rebounds and 2 steals. Tell, for his part, had a finger on what makes games against Watson Chapel one of their toughest challenges.
“Just competitiveness,” he said. “We both want to win, and the coaches go at it every time.”
Carter’s presence inside helped Magnolia control the glass on both ends of the floor and limit Watson Chapel’s shot opportunities, although sophomore Joseph Dockett tried to give Wildcats a much-needed offensive boost. Dockett had 18 points, making 6 of 6 free throws, and Jai’Kori Phillips totaled 11 points and 6 rebounds. Khamani Cooper, the Wildcats’ leading scorer on the season, was held to 6 points.
Magnolia led 24-16 at halftime and 40-29 through three periods.
“I just think we were out of sync today,” Barnes said. “We didn’t do the things that got us to where we’re at, so we’ve got to get back in the lab and regroup.”