02/27/2026
BY JACK BULLOCK
SPARTA - The moment wasn't too big for the mostly young Sparta Bulldogs on Friday night.

In front of a huge crowd the hosts made the most of their opportunity.

Sparta withstood a Woodlawn rally in the fourth quarter and held on for a 55-47 triumph to advance to the Trico Sectional next week.

Coach Jordan Beckley's club passed the test, especially late in the contest, to improve to 30-4, which is by far the school record for most wins.

Jakhai Dancy is a name you might want to remember in the next few years of high school hoops.

The 5-10 freshman guard scored a team-best 17-points, including a big-time 3-point shot that turned into four-point play early in the fourth quarter.

He added a pair of game-clinching free throws in the final seconds as the Bulldogs took care of the Cardinals in a battle of state-ranked clubs.

Junior guard Dariontez Monroe added 14-points for the winners as did sophomore DJ Hayes.

The Bulldogs combined to hit 8-of-10 free throws in the final quarter, that kept Woodlawn from finishing their rally.

“Our kids battled. We knew Woodlawn wasn't going to stop. They kept coming back. The kids kept fighting and we got it done,” said Coach Beckley, who has turned the Bulldogs program around in his five seasons as head coach.

The Cardinals had their promising season come to a screeching stop on Friday night for Coach Luke Cooper.

Losing two starters to injuries during the game, Woodlawn still managed to rally to make it a one possession contest in the final minutes only to see Sparta make the key plays to survive and advance.

Senior guard Kyle Cooper closed his brilliant prep basketball career with 20-points to lead Woodlawn.

The 6-1 senior ended up with over 2,000-points for his four-year run.

Junior forward Tyson Frick was the only other Cardinal in double-digits with 10-points.

Woodlawn played most of the game without junior forward Luke McKay, who was injured during the contest and senior Kylan Moser, who left the game with an ankle issue in the fourth quarter.

The early going saw the Cardinals hit some key shots on their way to a 7-3 lead.

Cooper scored twice on a drives to the rim, Frick put back an offensive rebound before Moser hit a 3-pointer from the left wing for Woodlawn's largest lead at 9-3.

But Sparta, after a timeout by Coach Beckley, rallied quickly to take the lead.

Sophomore guard Camden Allard and Dancy each hit 3-point shots and Monroe drove to the basket for a score and an 11-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Dancy showed his defensive skills as he made a pair of steals and turned them both into points in the second quarter.

Allard also picked off a pass for a transition basket.

The second Dancy steal and score turned into a three-point play and a 23-15 halftime lead.

The Bulldogs forced five second quarter Woodlawn turnovers with three of them turning directly into points.

Sparta looked like sure winners after a 7-1 start to the second half.

Hayes scored five of the points on a made free throw, a steal and fast break score to go with a rebound put back for a 30-17 lead with 4:56 left in the quarter.

However Woodlawn rallied with senior Baylor Rollie picking up a Sparta turnover for a basket and a 3-pointer from sophomore reserve Ian Bennett cut into the lead.

Coach Cooper switched his defense to a 1-3-1 zone trap which helped triggered the rally.

The Cardinals hit 7-of-8 free throws in the quarter and another score from Rollie closed a 13-2 Woodlawn run at 32-30 Bulldogs.

Sparta got scores from Hayes on an offensive rebound and a fast break basket by Monroe on another Hayes' steal.

It was Woodlawn's sixth turnover in the quarter as the lead reached 36-31 heading to the final frame.

“DJ (Hayes) made some big steals and we created turnovers and Dariontez (Monroe) played his butt off all night,” said Coach Beckley “We can get after it on the defensive end. Credit to Dequan Woods. He came in when Tyrell (Charles) had three fouls and made us even quicker on the floor.”

Dancy launched a 3-pointer from the right wing which found the mark as he was being fouled by Moser early in the fourth quarter.

The freshman canned the free throw and, on the next possession, junior Tyrell Charles added a fast break lay in for a 44-35 advantage.

“The four-point play was huge. How about a freshman pulling that off in a game like this,” said Coach Beckley about Dancy. “He's a big-time player and big-time players make big-time plays.”

Woodlawn got as close as three-points twice in the final 1:30 but they missed their last three 3-point shot attempts.

Sparta closed the deal from the stripe, hitting 5-of-6 in the last :37.7, to secure the regional championship victory.

“That's a great team (Woodlawn) it's just sad that one of us had to go home today,” said Coach Beckley.

The Bulldogs won the contest despite hitting just 5-of-28 3-pointers.

However when they shot the ball inside, they were much better.

On two-point field goals, Sparta finished 15-of-21, for a total of 20-of-49 overall.

The hosts forced 14-turnovers by Woodlawn compared to just eight miscues of their own.

The Cardinals ended their season hitting just 17-of-43 from the floor, 2-of-9 from long range.

It wasn't much of a consolation for Coach Cooper in winning the rebounding battle 27-22.

Woodlawn finished its campaign at 29-4 while Sparta advances to play Goreville on Wednesday night at the Trico Sectional.

The Blackcats took down Cairo to win the Cobden Regional on Friday night.

“I've been trying to build this up for five years. This is exactly the way we wanted it, to have this place full with everybody excited,” said Coach Beckley. “You're not always going to win them but, man, it feels good to win this one.”