Three members of the Class 4A State Basketball Champion Magnolia Panthers received state-wide recognition.
Freshman and MVP Derrian Ford was the only Panther named to the Class 4A All-State Team. He, along with freshman Colby Garland and senior Kadyn Roach, were named to the Class 4A All-State Tournament Team.
Ford, who scored 28 points during the overtime victory against Little Rock Mills, averaged 26.1 points during Magnolia’s four-game run in the state tournament. Garland had 21 points in the finals, which included a pair of 3-pointers and 5-of-6 shooting from the free-throw line. As for playing time during the 36-minute contest (regulation and overtime), Roach logged 30 minutes before fouling out late in the fourth quarter; Garland recorded 35 minutes, sitting out one minute due to an injury; and Ford played the entire game.
In other state basketball tournament news, Emerson Lady Pirates’ Kinsley Gunnels and Chasity Jones were named to the Class 1A All-State Tournament Team, while Gunnels was all-state performer.
For the Nevada Blue Jays, who lost to Izard County in the Class 1A Finals, Keyonte Coleman and Jared Todd were all-state tournament honorees and Coleman was named all-state. In Class 2A, Andreus Dedner of the Lafayette County Cougars was named all-state and all-state tournament performer.