Baxter Bulletin from Mountain Home, Arkansas • Page B2

PAGE2B BAXTER BULLETIN baxterbulletin.com FRIDAY sports Swimmer Allen is latest MHHS Athlete of the Week Olivia Allen, a senior swim captain, is the Jim Holsted Athlete of the Week for Mountain Home High School. Allen took third in the 100 freestyle and was part of the top three placing relays at the Pocahontas swim meet on Nov. 7. She is a CAB representative, and a member of HOSA and Spanish Club. She is the daughter of Clay and Jeanne Allen.

The Athlete of the Week award is selected by the Mountain Home High School Athletics Department and is presented by Mike and Susan Stockton. No. 16 Oklahoma edges Arkansas-Little Rock, 68-58 NORMAN, Okla. (AP) Peyton Little made three 3-pointers and scored 17 points, Vionise Pierre-Louis had her second career double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, and No. 16 Oklahoma held off Arkansas-Little Rock 68-58 on Wednesday night.

Little Rock pulled to 56-52 early in the fourth quarter on Sharde basket, but as close as the Trojans would get the rest of the way. Edwards scored four points during 6-0 run to take a 10-point lead with 4:26 left. It was the first double-digit lead for either team. Maddie Manning added nine points and five rebounds for Oklahoma (2-0). Little scored 10 straight Oklahoma points including back-to-back 3-pointers give the Sooners a 28-24 lead late in the second quarter.

The Sooners had a 34-33 lead at halftime and it was 54-48 after three quarters. Collins was 9-of-22 shooting for 23 points for Arkansas Little Rock (1-2). Kaitlyn Pratt added 10 points and Raeyana DeGray had eight points and seven rebounds. Scherzer, Porcello win Cy Youngs NEW YORK (AP) Rick Porcello of the Boston Red Sox won the AL Cy Young Award by a narrow margin and Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals took the NL prize. Porcello led the majors with 22 wins, and beat out Justin Verlander and Corey Kluber in results announced Wednesday.

Porcello got just eight first-place votes from members of the Baseball Association of America while Verlander drew 14. But Porcello drew more support across the board and was listed by all 30 voters Verlander was left off two ballots. Scherzer become the sixth pitcher to win the Cy Young in both leagues, earning the NL honor by a wide margin. He led the majors with 284 strikeouts and topped the league with 20 wins, and beat out Chicago Cubs teammates Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks. Scherzer won the AL honor in 2013 while pitching in a Detroit rotation with Porcello and Verlander, and has now joined Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, Gaylord Perry and Roy Halladay as winners in both leagues.

Harvard study on NFL player safety calls for outside doctors BOSTON (AP) A new Harvard University study says the NFL should stop using doctors paid by the team to determine whether players are able to come back from an injury. The report from the NFL Players Association-funded Football Players Health Study also recommends a short-term injured reserve for players recovering from a concussion, much like the system that baseball adopted five years ago. The report issued Thursday includes 76 recommendations addressed to 20 stakeholders in the game everyone from players and teams to equipment manufacturers and government regulators. The biggest message: Player safety will never be the top priority as long as those involved have competing calls on their loyalty. To address the conflict of interest faced by doctors paid by the teams, the report recommends that the league and the union jointly hire the physicians who decide how to treat an injured player and when he can return to the game.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league would study the report and discuss the recommendations with its clubs, medical staff and the union. Deal set to dismiss assault case against Manziel DALLAS (AP) Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel has reached a deal with prosecutors for the conditional dismissal of a domestic assault case involving his former girlfriend. Defense attorney Jim Darnell said there was still work to be done to finalize the deal, but said after a Thursday morning hearing that he was encouraged. A judge set another hearing for Dec. 1, when the case could be settled.

The troubled former Cleveland quarterback left the courtroom without responding to questions. The 23-year-old Manziel is accused of hitting and threatening former girlfriend Colleen Crowley during a night out in January. The former star at Texas faces a misdemeanor assault charge that carries a penalty of up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine. wire reports sidelines Allen FLIPPIN The Cotter Warriors advanced to the Arvest Bank Tournament semifinals by putting Norfork away with a20-7 fourth quarter to secure a 51-35 victory over the Panthers on Wednesday night at Bobcat Country. Norfork kept the score close as Grant Casey got going in the third quarter, hitting three 3-pointers and scoring 11 as the Panthers climbed within 31-28 going into the fourth.

Norfork was within 33-30 early in the fourth when Cotter went on a 10-0 flurry, sparked by three straight layups by sophomore Cole Adams at the end of the full-court pressure. Dawson Burns and Matthew Gorbet each added baskets as the lead grew to 43-30 midway through the quarter. Norfork could not climb any closer than 11 the rest of the way. Gorbet, a 6-4 senior, was dominant in the paint, scoring a game-high 27 points, while Burns and Adams added 10 apiece. Casey and Travis Lewis tossed in 15 apiece to pace Norfork, which travels to Izard County on Friday for a Conference game.

Cotter was scheduled to face Calico Rock at 9 p.m. Thursday in the semifinals of the tourney. Cotter scored several times in the paint in the first quarter, growing a 14-5 lead after four from Gorbet and two from Maddux Adams in a 6-0 spurt. Gorbet scored four more to open the second period with an 18-5 lead for Cotter. when Lewis got going for Norfork, scoring 10 in the second quarter, bringing the Panthers within 20-15 with a 3-pointer at the buzzer just before halftime.

PANTHERS (3-5) Lewis 15, Casey 15, Belding 3, Sorters 2. WARRIORS (7-2) Gorbet 27, Burns 10, C. Adams 10, M. Adams 2, Kapshandy 2. ARVEST BANK TOURNAMENT Cotter holds off Norfork, 51-35 NEAL BAXTER BULLETIN Travis Lewis is surrounded by Matthew Gorbet (20) and Dawson Burns (30) during the 51-35 victory over the Panthers on Wednesday night in Flippin.

Warriors move to tourney semifinals with victory NEAL DENTON FAYETTEVILLE The Razorbacks have heard enough cowbells ringing in practice this week to make silencing them a goal Saturday night in Starkville, Miss. Fans ringing cowbells are a tradition for the Mississippi State Bulldogs (4-6, 2-4 in the SEC West), hosting Arkansas (6-4, 2-4) at 6 p.m. Saturday on ESPNU at Davis Wade Stadium. Arkansas senior linebacker Brooks Ellis and senior left offensive tackle Dan Skipper both have played through the din during a 17-10 loss to the Bulldogs in 2014 at Starkville. Arkansas sophomore running back Rawleigh Williams has not been to Starkville so is among the partially initiated with the loudspeaker pumped cowbells noise during the Arkansas practices this game week.

had them going Williams said. the best noise to hear, but hopefully we can quiet them down a little Will they affect the Arkansas offense calling signals? Williams said. staff does a good job of teaching us how to handle it, and we practice with it all week so hopefully it be that big a deal for us It an intimidating big deal, just anettlesome one, Ellis said of the ringing cowbells. just constantly loud and Ellis said. not a fun experience to be down Every SEC school has its own traditions but Mississippi cowbells are especially one of a kind allowed in the league.

time on the road got to be prepared for the Skipper said. their thing. what they bring to the table. So you can let it affect you or you can be mentally tough and not let it affect Or even use it to motivate you. are going to use it as Arkansas receivers coach Michael Smith said.

we can all play well enough where there be alot of cowbells ringing at the end of the Truly, not the sound of cowbells but the taste of defeat that has annually galled the Razorbacks since 2012 whether playing Mississippi State in Starkville, Fayetteville or Little Rock. Current fifth-year senior Razorbacks redshirting as freshmen in 2012 under John L. Smith, or fifth-year senior receiver Keon Hatcher who played in that Mississippi State game in Starkville but was granted a 2016 hardship because a broken foot ended his 2015 season at two games, can recall the Razorbacks routed, 45-14 at Davis Wade. From 2013 on under Bret Bielema ARKANSAS FOOTBALL Razorbacks hit road, look to quiet bells Arkansas attempts to rebound against Bulldogs NATE ALLEN Game Arkansas at Mississippi State, 6p.m. TV: ESPNU Records: Arkansas (6-4, 2-4 SEC); Mississippi State (4-6, 2-4) FLIPPIN Viola went more than 12 minutes without scoring in the first half, and the Flippin Lady Bobcats took full advantage, coasting to a 40-18 victory over the Lady Longhorns in consolation bracket play Thursday night at the Arvest Bank Tournament in elementary gymnasium.

Viola missed all 10 of its 3-point attempts in the first half shooting 1 of 15 for the game and the Lady Longhorns very efficient inside the arc either. Emily Perryman scored all six of the Lady first-half points as Viola was held to just three baskets over the first two quarters. After Viola held the early 4-2 lead, Haylee Marberry scored twice for Flippin and Ivy Benoit hit the first of her four 3-pointers on the night to make it 9-4. Benoit canned another 3 midway through the second quarter, and Marberry and Tayler Kirk each scored in the paint to push the lead to 16-4. Flippin went on to hold an 18-6 lead at halftime.

lone second-quarter bucket came from Perryman with 1:27 remaining, breaking ascoreless drought of over 12 minutes. The Lady appeared to be on track when the second half began as Perryman scored and Shaylee Harber buried lone trey of the night to draw within 18-11. But Flippin went on a 16-1 run to end the third quarter, putting the game away. Benoit nailed two treys during the flurry, which received scoring from four different Lady Bobcats. Flippin extended the run to 20-1 when it pushed to its biggest lead of the night at ARVEST BANK TOURNAMENT NEAL BAXTER BULLETIN Emily Perryman tries to shoot over Haylee Marberry and Maria Benefiel during the Lady 40-18 win Thursday night.

LADY BOBCATS ROLL AT TOURNEY NEAL DENTON Viola suffers drought as Flippin advances to consolation final.