Ponder gets revenge by ousting Arp

AUSTIN -- Revenge was especially sweet for Ponder on Friday morning.

Two years after falling to Arp in the Class 2A state championship, Ponder knocked the Tigers out of the hunt for another. Behind an aggressive defense and accurate shooting, the Lions roared past Arp early and cruised to a 51-34 victory in a 2A state semifinal at the Frank Erwin Center.

"It was real motivation for us after losing to them two years ago," senior forward Nathan McPherson said. "We really wanted this win."

McPherson helped the Lions (38-2) get it with a solid performance that ended with a game-high 18 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore center Scott Gregg came off the bench to add a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Ponder will face Jim Ned, a 62-41 winner over New Waverly, in the 2A state championship Saturday at 2 p.m.

The Tigers (22-4) never really had a chance, opening the game hitting just 1 of their first 11 shots. Arp struggled to get open looks throughout the game, and when it did, they struggled to connect.

Ponder held the Tigers to just two points in the first quarter and jumped out to a 14-2 lead early, with McPherson scoring 10. Arp closed the gap to 17-13 on a LaVocheya Cooper jumper, but never got closer the rest of the way.

Ponder coach Doug Boxell credited his defense with getting the team off to a hot start.

"It was big," Boxell said. "We know our defense is the strength of our team and if we could keep them from getting easy baskets we could win."

Arp finished the game shooting just 29 percent from the field and no player shot better than 45 percent. Cory Walker paced the Tigers with 10 points, while Iowa State football signee Sedrick Johnson struggled with just eight points, eleven rebounds and five turnovers.

"We just didn't play our best game," Arp coach Brian Keith said. "We picked the wrong time to have a bad game."

To see the game photos, click here.

Date of Article: Fri Mar 07, 2008 12:12 pm