The Eufaula Ironheads made a long road trip to get the short end of the stick as the Kellyville Ponies defeated the Ironheads 57-40. Kellyville came out firing from the perimeter with Easton Nance leading the way. The Ponies jumped out to a 20-14 lead after the first period and Eufaula had a difficult time overcoming the large deficit.
Keaton Parish played well on defense and forced several turnovers but Kellyville made it hard for the Ironheads to score from the three-point arch. Maddox Bridges fought against the tough Kellyville defense but the Ponies took a 32-26 lead into halftime.
Kellyville outscored Eufaula 11-5 in the third period. Highlights for Eufaula came in the form of Landon Mills and Draven Gragg as the two big men physically battled for rebounds and scoring in the paint with each scoring seven points. Dacen Hunter was hard to stop once he got the basketball. He used his speed and elusiveness to score eight points for the Ironheads.
The huge factor for Eufaula washowtokeepNance incheckandtheydidn’thave an answer as Nance finished with 30 points and Ryker Buckley added 10 points for the Ponies.
Lady Ironheads win in a shootout
The Eufaula Lady Ironheads knew they would be in a close game against the Kellyville Ponies. The two programs have been battling it out on the basketball court for decisive games in regionals and beyond. But Friday night the Lady Ironheads topped the Lady Ponies 56-47. It was a huge win for Eufaula head coach Nick Yarbrough.
The first period was exciting and close as Eufaula edged Kellyville 20-17 to start the second period.
The Lady Ironheads used great perimeter shooting, defense and rebounding on both ends of the court to secure the win. Kambry Williams and Allie Anderson had the hot hand for Eufaula. Both girls combined for 31 points. Jadence Efurd, Kate Pippenger and Johna Bumgarner physically outplayed their opponents as Eufaula outscored the Ponies 13-8 in the second period.
Kellyville struggled against the tough and fast defense applied to them. Jordas McClish and Pippenger did a good job of cutting off the shooting lanes of the Ponies and forced them to take bad shots. Bumgarner has come into her own the last couple of games and has proved to be a contender off the bench. Eufaula outscored Kellyville 2322 in the second half to seal the 56-47 victory. Allie Anderson led Eufaula with 17 points, Kambry Williams had 14, Bumgarner 12 and Maddie Ballard added five points. A bright spot for Yarbrough is that he had seven players score.
