Earle Bulldogs win 1A State Championship

Earle boys top Marked Tree to cap 2024-25 season with tourney title

By RALPH HARDIN

ralphhardin@gmail.com

The Earle Bulldogs sit atop the 1A Arkansas boys basketball world.

Earle battled through the always- daunting 1A Arkansas State Basketball postseason, collecting “W’s” along the way eliminating their opponents until they took home the the 1A State Championship last Saturday in Hot Springs.

After surviving district and conference postseason play, the Bulldogs powered through the Sate Tournament last week in Trumann. For the Earle boys, their run to the title game started against Marvell-Elaine, whom they dispatched 79-50 in Round 1. Then came a quarter_nal clash with Columbia Christian, which came down to the _nal minute of action and a 67-64 Bulldog win. The semi_nal showdown with Crowley’s Ridge Academy was ultimately not much of a contest, as Earle dismantled

See CHAMPS, page A2

The Earle Bulldogs won the 2024-25 Arkansas Boys 1A State Basketball Championship over the weekend, beating Marked Tree 48-44 in an all-Northeast Arkansas final.

Photo courtesy of AAA CHAMPS

From page A1

their opponents 62-29 to earn a spot in the 1A Title Game.

In the Championship Game, the Bulldogs faced familiar foe in the form of the Marked Tree Indians. The two teams had clashed three times earlier in the season. On Jan. 14, the Bulldogs beat the Indians 47-42. And on Jan. 24, Earle again got the better of Marked Tree, winning 5339. However, on Feb. 28, in the 1A Region 2 title game, it was the Indians pulling off the win, 48-42, which actually made Marked Tree the top seed from the Region. Earle was no doubt looking for a little revenge when they faced their rivals inside Bank OZK Arena in Hot Springs.

It was a back-and-forth affair in the title game, with both teams very familiar with each other by the time the state championship was up for grabs, but ultimately Earle was able to win the game and the title by a score of 48-44.