LITTLE ROCK — Bobby Portis scored 27 points to lead Hall past Mills 55-29 on Tuesday night at The Galaxy.
Portis scored 14 first-half points as Hall took a 24-11 lead into halftime, and his turnaround jumper to open the third quarter spurred a 14-2 run.
“Bobby is our floor general out there, and we expect that from him,” said Hall Coach Jon Coleman, whose team was coming off a runner-up finish in the Jammin’ for Jackets Tournament.
Hall overcame 15 turnovers.
“We’ve got a lot of new guys on the team, and we’re trying to get them implemented with the way we do things,” Coleman said. “It just takes a while to get adjusted.”
Portis started the game with a three-pointer and Gregg Easter added a basket in the first minute for a 5-2 lead. Hall’s next points came three minutes later on Anfrenee Floyd’s free throws.
Devin Campbell, who led Mills (4-4) with 10 points and 11 rebounds, scored inside to cut Hall’s lead to five. Shaquon Fletcher’s layup to start the second quarter pulled Mills to within three, but Portis answered with six consecutive points.
Mills never cut the lead to fewer than 10 points again. Hall (6-3) outscored Mills 23-7 in the third quarter and led 47-18 at the start of the fourth quarter.
Portis was intentionally fouled twice late in the game and had two blocks before leaving the game with Hall ahead by 29.
“His performances just keep getting better, ” Coleman said.
Hall played a tenacious second-half trapping press that forced Mills into 21 turnovers. Hall’s largest lead, 50-30, came with 6:41 to play.
HIGH SCHOOL COACHES
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Sports, Pages 23 on 12/12/2012