Batesville goes 2-0 against Pope

By Brad Greer
When Pope Junior High and Batesville meet on the basketball court more likely than not there will be some excitement.
The latest installment of the cross county showdown took place Thursday at Pope as a De’Marion Hoskins basket with 28 seconds remaining gave the Batesville boys an exciting 26-24 victory thus sweeping the season series between the two schools.
Following a Pope timeout, the Bulldogs had a chance to tie the game, but a desperation shot with six seconds left was blocked with Batesville gaining possession and running out the clock.
Hoskins, who led Batesville in scoring with 10 points, gave the Tigers the lead, 21-20 at the 5:14 mark of the fourth quarter. Brock Ware then proceeded to knock down a three-pointer on the following series to extend the Batesville lead to 24-20.
Pope would not go down without a fight as two free throws by Travis Blackburn and a Kentrell Bobo layup tied the contest at 24-24 before Hoskins clutch basket.
The Tigers jumped out to an 8-2 lead after one quarter of play before Pope rallied in the second period to take a 14-12 advantage at intermission.
Blackburn and Bobo led Pope with 10 points each. Marsean Simmons added three points while Nolan Long chipped in with one point.
Coya Ford followed Hoskins in scoring with five points. Terence Herron registered four while Ware finished with three. Tyler Johnson and Brayden Martin finished with two points each.
In the girls contest, Batesville completed the sweep with a 10-1 victory. Ty’Tianna Suggs paced the Lady Tigers with six points while Victoria Ratfield added four. Madison Lawrence scored Pope’s lone point with a free throw in the third quarter.