Tuesday’s Basketball Playoff Roundup: Whitehouse, Tatum Secure First-Round Wins + Canton, Cushing, Martin’s Mill Girls Advance to Regionals

WILLS POINT -- The Whitehouse Wildcats scored a 67-62 win over Arlington Seguin in their Class 4A Region II bi-district playoff Tuesday night at Wills Point High School.

Patrick Mahomes led Whitehouse (26-5) with 21 points. Spencer Shaw added 11 points, while Brady Hill finished with 10. Jake Parker, Jaylon Dews and Isaiah Clark each had eight points in the win.

Whitehouse will face Lucas Lovejoy, an overtime winner over Mount Pleasant, Friday night in the area round. The game will either take place in Forney or Eustace.

Seguin, which trailed by double digits for the most of the game, rallied to cut Whitehouse's lead to three points with 10 seconds remaining. But Parker sank both free throws at the other end to put the game out of reach.

Josh Parrish, a 6-3 sophomore point guard, led Seguin with 22 points. Karim Cole added 11 points in defeat.

Anthony Sanders Propels Athens

TYLER -- The 10th-ranked Athens Hornets began the postseason with a 71-62 win over Gilmer in their Class 3A Region II bi-district playoff Tuesday at Tyler Lee High School.

Athens (28-1) advanced to the area round where it will face Pleasant Grove on Friday.

Anthony Sanders led the way with 43 points, five assists and four steals. Chris Jefferson added eight points, 10 rebounds and five steals, while Courtland Lyons contributed four points and five boards.

Malik Jackson paced Gilmer (12-9) with 20 points, while Nick Smith added 14 in the losing effort.

Tatum Crushes Frankston

WHITEHOUSE -- The second-ranked Tatum Eagles began the playoffs with a 94-59 rout of Frankston in their Class 2A Region III bi-district clash Tuesday night at Wildcat Arena.

Tatum will face Newton later this week in the area round of the playoffs. The date, location and time have yet to be determined.

Robbie Rockwell led Tatum (30-4) with 19 points, which included a 5-for-8 performance from beyond the 3-point line. Jahee Johnson added 16 points, Jakob Lee had 12 points and five rebounds, while Chaston Brooks finished with 10 points, six boards, five assists and three steals.

Kendrick Rogers and Gunnar Murphy had 18 points apiece to lead Frankston.

Waskom Too Much For Arp

TATUM -- The Waskom Wildcats earned a 66-46 win over Arp in their Class 2A Region III bi-district playoff Tuesday night at Eagle Coliseum.

Waskom (15-7), which will play No. 1 Kountze later this week in the area round, was led by Kevin Johnson's 25 points. Kaleb Haynes added 10 points, while Nigel Brown chipped in with nine in the win.

Clay Sieber led Arp in defeat with 14 points, while teammate Thomas Reese added 13.

GIRLS

Canton Blows Past Pleasant Grove

LONGVIEW -- The 12th-ranked Canton Eaglettes advanced to the regional tournament with a 53-34 victory over No. 22 Pleasant Grove in their Class 3A Region II quarterfinal Tuesday night at Lobo Coliseum.

Canton (27-7) will face Argyle at 8 p.m. Friday at Texas A&M-Commerce in one regional semifinal. Celina and Crandall play at 6 p.m., and the winners of both semis will face off at 1 p.m. Saturday for a trip to the state tournament in Austin.

Kassidy Wilkerson led Canton with 14 points, six steals and three assists. Courtney Roberts added 11 points, which included a pair of 3-pointers. Lilly Nelson finished with nine points and eight rebounds, while Madison McCaffity also had nine points.

Pleasant Grove (27-5) was led in defeat by Renee Walker's 16 points.

Martin's Mill Rolls Past Mart

CORSICANA -- The top-ranked Martin's Mill Lady Mustangs are one step closer to a ninth consecutive trip to the state tournament after a 59-35 rout of Mart in their Class A Division I Region III quarterfinal Tuesday night.

Martin's Mill (32-2) will face Cushing at 5 p.m. Friday at Tyler Junior College's Wagstaff Gym in one regional semifinal. Kerens and Tenaha meet at 3 p.m. Friday in the other semi, with the winners facing one another Saturday for a spot at the state tourney in Austin.

Cheyenne Brown led Martin's Mill with 25 points. Cassidy McCoy added nine points, while Hailey Celsur finished with seven in the win.

Cushing Ousts District Rival Wells

The Cushing Galkats stamped their ticket to the regional tournament by earning a 47-31 win over District 21-A rival Wells in their Class A Division I Region III quarterfinal on Tuesday night.

Mackenzie Tucker paced Cushing (28-4) with 22 points, 10 rebounds and seven steals. Kayla Moore added nine points, five steals and four assists, Brylee Brandon finished with eight points and Madison Jackson collected six rebounds to go with six assists.