Bulldogs crush Panola to win East Zone title, No. 1 seed

By MIKE MONTFORT  —  Sophomore Day, conference championship and tournament top seed all rolled into one big post-game celebration Saturday. Navarro basketball (23-6/13-5) got 57 points from its sophomore core during a 78-52 romp past Panola for the Region XIV East Zone Championship and the top seed for next week’s post-season tournament at Shreveport, La. Coach Michael Landers’ 24th-ranked Bulldogs, coming off a season-low 38 percent shooting Thursday and a shorter-than-routine game-preparation, could do no wrong Saturday. They emptied an ammunition-belt of 12 three-pointers, and, on the other end, limited an opponent to 60 points or less for the third time in the last four outings. For only the fourth time this season and first since Game 8 on November 20, Xavier Davenport pumped in a game-high 20 points as the Bulldogs improved their record at Lewis Orr Court to 13-3. ‘X’ marked the spot, and deadly Davenport sank four three-pointers. He set early tones by nailing Navarro’s first three in each half. Davenport, one of seven Bulldogs to score 25-plus in games this season, turned in his most productive scoresheet since he canned 33 in November 20 in a three-overtime win at Temple against the 24-6 Leopards, who qualified...