Cards win!
Sabine boys advance to area round
By JASON HEFFNER Special to the News Herald

BI-DISTRICT CHAMPS! - Members of the Sabine High School basketball team hoist their UIL Class 3A bi-district playoff trophy, moments after beating Pleasant Grove, 64-51. Sabine hit 11 three-point shots in the contest, played at Daingerfield High School Tuesday night. The Cardinals (28-7) advance to the 3A area round, and will play Bullard at the University of Texas at Tyler on Friday night at 6 p.m.

DAINGERFIELD - The Sabine Cardinals are now four wins away from going to Austin for the Texas state basketball tournament after winning Tuesday's Bi-district game over the Texarkana Pleasant Grove Hawks.

Sabine took its 28th victory of the season, a 67-51 win that meant more than any so far this year, no question. The victory allows Sabine to move to the area round to face Bullard - an oppo- nent that is familiar to the Cardinals - on Friday night at 6 p.m. at the University of Texas at Tyler.

Against Pleasant Grove, the Cardinals' Noah Jackson played a big role in the school's first playoff win since 2005, hitting four three-pointers and finishing the game with 20 points to lead Sabine. Coach Tim Davis' Cardinals were redhot from long-distance range all night, hitting 11 threepointers.

The Cardinals jumped on Pleasant Grove early, thanks to Jackson's perimeter shooting, and took a 27-6 lead at the end of the first quarter. However, Lance Ashby would keep the Hawks close throughout the second quarter, scoring eight of his game-high 25 points in the frame.

Colton Kirk added 14 points for the Cardinals and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the freethrow line. The rest of the team struggled from the charity stripe, missing eight free throws in the game. Junior guard Jacob Kenna came in off the bench and scored nine points, as did Lie'Quan Byrd. All of Byrd's nine points came off of three-pointers.

Senior Jacob Dunaway also found the hot hand in the second quarter, connecting on two three-pointers as well, to finish the night with six points. Another senior, Josh Herod, added five points and Tyler Woodrell scored four. The Hawks closed to within 10 points late in the third quarter (47-37). However, Byrd's three-point shot inside the closing minutes of the third gave Sabine a 13-point advantage going into the fourth quarter (50-37).

Pleasant Grove finishes their season with an overall record of 19-10, while coach Davis' Cardinals, who will live to play another day, improve their record to 28-6.

Sabine will now face the challenge of playing the District 14-3A champion Bullard Panthers, who are led by head coach Ryan Tomlin. The Panthers beat Sabine earlier this season by a score of 64-54 at Bullard, in an early-January game.