By Angie Ledbetter

It was a heated game between two close teams matched by relatives and friends.

The Pope Bulldogs hosted the Batesville Tigers on January 14 and fell 12-5.

Batesville claimed a clean sweep as it hosted the rivalry game with its student body cheering them on and getting the 21-11 victory.

Batesville’s Jordan Matthews got the student body fired up after hitting the first basket of the game from the three-point line with 10:43 on the clock.

Pope got on the board when Jonathan McMurry went to the free throw line making one of two shots. Matthews rebounded and made a layup giving Batesville a 5-1 lead. Pope’s Reginald Morris hit a two with 7:45 on the clock.

McMurry stole the ball from Batesville and scored a field goal tying the game at five with 7:21 on the clock.

Desmond Lester hit the basket for Batesville with 6:25 on the clock. Batesville stole the ball from Pope and Ryan Lee made the basket giving them a 9-5 lead over Pope. Batesville traveled and Pope’s Morris scored and cut the lead 9-7.

Brycen Robinson made a layup for Batesville after a steal. Henderson hit a two-pointer for the last basket of the first half giving Batesville a 13-7 lead.

In the second half, Batesville’s Lee hit the basket from the three-point line giving Batesville a 16-7 lead with 5:41 left on the clock.

 Pope added two more on a Demetrius Market field goal. Kamdon Edwards hit a two for Batesville with 4:07 on the clock. Keshaun Draper added two points for Batesville giving his team a 20-9 lead.

Pope’s Tyler Pogue finished the scoring for Pope with his two point layup with a few seconds left in the game.

Girls

The BJH Lady Tigers defeated Pope 11-4.

Batesville Ta’Haira Bean got the Tigers on the scoreboard first with a basket. With 2:44 left in the first half, the Bulldogs got on the board when Georgian Alexander made a basket tying the game at two. Micheala Carr shot a field goal giving the Tigers a 4-2 halftime lead.

Batesville’s Tyraveen Collins went to the free throw line with 8:29 left in the second half making one of two baskets.  Jasmine Wright followed with back-to-back field goals for a 9-2 Batesville lead.

Bean added another field goal with 5:20 left on the board putting the score at 11-2. With 9.1 seconds left on the clock, Pope’s Moesha Benson hit a field goal to end the game.