Puxico jumped to a 17-9 lead after the first quarter and held off a run to beat Bloomfield 71-58 Thursday night.

"We just came out and really asserted ourselves," Puxico coach Josh Dowdy said. "J Hon hit three 3s in the first quarter and that really opened us up."

Bloomfield outscored the Indians in the third quarter to close the gap but netted just 10 points in the final frame.

"If we are going to accomplish our goals, we are going to have to play four quarters of defense," Dowdy said. "The other three quarters we buckled down."

Naylor 63, Richland 58

Travis Thomas scored nine of his 16 points in the fourth quarter to lead a Naylor rally. The Eagles trailed by a point entering the final quarter but beat the Rebels' defensive pressure to get the ball inside for easy scores.

"They started pressing and we got some easy baskets," Naylor coach Glen Eubanks said. The Eagles trailed 28-24 at halftime. Richland's Nick Harris knocked down five 3-pointers in the game to lead all scorers with 19 points. Caleb Johnson scored 15 points for Naylor while Matt Woolard added 13.

Couch 63, Neelyville 56

The Tigers and Indians played to a tie in the first half before the Indians put up a big third quarter to get the win.

Couch outscored Neelyville 17-8 to turn a 31-31 halftime score into a 48-39 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Once the Tigers fell behind, they found it difficult to mount a comeback.

"We don't play catch-up well," said Neelyville coach James Patty.

Van Buren 88, Bunker 28

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 30-6 lead Thursday night, advancing to the semifinals of the Black River League Tournament.

Brandon Tucker was the high scorer in the contest with 22 points while Tyler Freeze netted 18.

The Bulldogs defense was solid on the night as Bunker scored no more than eight points in any quarter.

Van Buren plays Saturday in the championship game.

GIRLS

Lesterville 58, Clearwater 43

Lesterville moved past the Tigers thanks to a 22-9 second quarter.

Kristan Jordan had a gamehigh for Bunker with 19 points. Adrianne D'Amico was the high scorer for Clearwater with 18 points in the loss.

Ellington 70, Bunker 41

The Lady Whippets got off to a 22-7 start and rolled Thursday night.

Cassie Shelton scored 19 points in the win while Whitney Morgan finished with 17 points.