Dora wins districts; falls to Iberia in sectionals

The Dora High School boys' basketball team won the class 2 district 10 title Saturday in an Ozark County showdown with the Gainesville Bulldogs to send the Falcons to the sectional round of the state tournament.

Dora lost to Iberia 80-58 in the sectional game of the state tournament Wednesday evening and ended with a season record of 23-6.

In the game against Gainesville for the district championship, it was a physical game between the two Ozark County teams, both of whom have had very successful seasons.

"Two of our five losses had come at the hands of the Bulldogs, so my guys knew going in it would be a struggle," said Dora coach Rick Luna. " We knew what we had to do defensively  to try and stop the red hot Bulldog team."

Dora won the contest 63-46, with Gavin Haney leading the Falcons with 25 points, followed by Dustin Johnson with 12, Kamryn Johnson with 10 and Tryesen Hambelton with 9.

Zach Voss led Gainesville in scoring with 12 points, followed by Harley Taylor with 8. Josh Peter, Jim Donley and Thomas Ritter each netted 6 points for the Bulldogs, who finished the year with a record of 20-9 and 5-1 in district action.

Girls' action

The Dora Lady Falcons' stellar season came to an end with a second place prize in the district tournament and a 22-6 season record.

The Lady Falcons, who defeated Sparta in a 62-59 shootout in the district semifinals, couldn't keep pace with Seymour in the district title game.

Dora finished the year with its first ever 22-win season. 

The Bakersfield Lady Lions, after beating Gainesville in the first round, couldn't overcome a 20-point deficit against Seymour in the semifinals, losing 56-52.

"We struggled offensively early against a good Seymour team," Bakersfield coach Doyne Byrd said.  "We ended up down 20 early in the third quarter, but did a great job battling back and cutting the lead to 3 with 45 seconds left.  We knew that we had to be able to pressure them into turnovers, and we really played with great effort on the defensive end. I have never been prouder of a group of kids giving it everything they had and giving themselves a chance to win in a game where most teams would have laid down after finding themselves down 20," Byrd said.

Bakersfield finished the season with their fifth straight White River Conference championship and a 16-9 record.

Gainesville's girls finished the year with a 14-11 record and 5-1 in district action.

Lutie teams and Bakersfield's boys squad were all ousted during district action last week.