The Blytheville Chickasaws made the 5A State Tournament for the second consecutive season and unlike last season the Chickasaws were victorious in their first-round matchup. The Chickasaws (17-12) defeated the second-seed out of the 5A Central Little Rock Christian Academy Warriors, 53-51, to advance to the 5A Elite 8. The difference in the ball game for the Chickasaws was senior guard Tony Newmy, Jr. with five three-pointers. The Chickasaws couldn't get anything going in the first quarter as they trailed 22-8, but inched back into the game to trail 30-20 at the half. BHS shots came alive in the second half, however. The Chicks cut the Warriors lead to six points to end the third quarter. The Warriors led all the way until the 3:17 mark in the fourth quarter when Newmy pulled up from deep Chickasaw three-point land to give the Chicks a 48-46 lead. With two minutes to go Warriors sophomore forward, Chris Hightower intercepted a Chickasaw pass and slammed it home to tie the game at 48. Newmy would break the tie 51-48 with an and-one opportunity with 1:16 left to go in the game. Chickasaw senior Treay Jamison connected on one of two from the line with 54.5 seconds left to give the Chicks a four-point lead. Warriors senior guard Will Strickland cut the Chicks lead to one with a three-pointer with 45.4 seconds left. The Warriors had a chance to pull ahead with 13 seconds to go but were unable to get a shot to fall and Chicks junior forward Winston Peace grabbed a rebound and was fouled with four seconds remaining. Peace hit one of two from the line to give the Chicks a 53-51 lead. Strickland rushed the ball up the court and shot a deep three-pointer that rattled out at the buzzer. Newmy led the Chicks with a game-high 21 points. Jamison chipped in 13 points and Peace added 11 points. The Chickasaws will face the Hot Spring Trojans (23-11) Thursday at 8 p.m. The Trojans defeated the Greenbrier Panthers 61-49 in their first-round matchup