After all of the off-season workouts, summer workouts, club play and travel, camps, preseason practices, and a regular season that began in early November, the long road to a state championship and the realization of the dreams of every basketball player is just a few days away. In fact, at the time of publication, the Arkansas Activities Association state championship basketball games are now underway in Hot Springs at Bank OZK Arena. Championship finals across all classifications are being played this weekend.
At the deadline for this story, the County Line Indians had just defeated a very talented Clarendon team on Friday night by the score of 70-55 to advance to the state semifinals that was played at Ozark High School. The Indians were set to play Shirley for the right to advance to Hot Springs for the championship game. In the other semifinal of the day, Brinkley was set to play Marked Tree, also to advance to this weekend’s state championship final.
County Line was the favorite to advance to this weekend’s final. Due to submission deadlines for this story, RNN Sports updated basketball fans online at residentnewsnetwork.com and on social media. We will also have a special issue of the RNN Logan County Edition weekly newspaper two weeks after the final that will look back on what has been a very special season for County Line.
In Class 3A, the Charleston Tigers, winners of the 3A-4 conference regular season championship and the 3A Region 1 championship, won a buzzer-beater first round against Benton Harmony Grove. But the Tigers’ season came to an end in the second round of the state tournament against a very good Manilla Lions team. With the loss, several Charleston seniors’ high school basketball careers came to an end, marking a very successful four years of Tigers’ sports for the class.
Coach Joe Brunson and the County Line Indians have had a record-breaking season that many will look back on for generations. RNN Sports has enjoyed covering the Indians this season and in the state playoffs, and we will look back on their season in two weeks. In the meantime, we hope that by the time you read this story in the Logan County Edition, Indians fans will find themselves traveling to Hot Springs to watch their beloved County Line team play in the state finals.
The Class 1A state boys basketball final is scheduled for March 10, 2023 at 7:45 p.m. The site will be Bank OZK Arena that has been the state championship venue for both volleyball and basketball over the past few years. Fans should consult the Arkansas Activities Association website for more information on advance purchase of tickets as well as arena policies on purses, etc.
Good luck to the County Line Indians and congratulations on an epic season!
