Small ball works for hosts

Sunday, December 23, 2012

— The Jacksonville Red Devils defended their home court in the final game of the Hardwood Showcase with a 72-62 victory over the Chicago Orr Spartans.

Jacksonville (7-3) was seemingly at a disadvantage to start the game with 6-6 Keith Charleston sitting with a knee injury. With no other player over 6-3, Jacksonville’s speed and defense proved too much for the Spartans’ frontcourt, featuring 6-8 Marlon Jones and 6-7 Tyvone Greer.

“I never would’ve thought it, but making them go small almost hurt us,” Jacksonville Coach Victor Joyner said. “Their smaller lineup is as quick as we’ll see.”

A three-pointer by Reggie Barnes to open the fourth quarter gave the Red Devils a 53-30 lead. With mostly reserves in the game, Jacksonville extended that lead to 60-34 with six minutes left to play.

That’s when Orr took out both big men and turned to a full-court trapping press. That helped lead to 15 turnovers by the Red Devils in the fourth as the Spartans scored 28 points over the final 5:30.

“I call that a kamikaze press,” Joyner said. “If you can get it over the top you should score behind them, but they trapped that first man so fast that we couldn’t also go up top.”

Orr guard Louis Adams found his range in the fourth quarter, scoring 20 of his gamehigh 29 points. Jacksonville was led by Aaron Smith’s 15 points. Smith missed three of his first four free throws, but bounced back to make his final six in the fourth quarter to help hold the Spartans at bay.

Even when Orr had the size advantage, Jacksonville still held an almost 3-1 rebounding edge. The Red Devils outrebounded the Spartans 41-14.

“You can’t overcome almost 30 turnovers in a game unless you’re doing something else right,” Joyner said. “We played some defense out there tonight and were able to back those big guys away from the basket.”

LR MCCLELLAN 77, EL DORADO 63

A hot shooting night for the Little Rock McClellan Lions led them past the El Dorado Wildcats. The Lions’ Chris Early led all scorers with 21 points. Greg Hollis was right behind him with 20 points. As a team, Little Rock McClellan was 17 of 19 from the free-throw line. El Dorado (3-5) had the shooting touch in the first quarter, taking a 20-17 lead into the second quarter. The second quarter saw the Lions lock down on defense, while getting better on offense, outscoring the Wildcats 23-13. McClellan put the game away in the fourth with a 24-point quarter.

BOSSIER CITY 64, TRENT INTERNATIONAL 42

The Bossier City (La.) Bearkats went 20 of 21 from the free-throw line and topped Sugar Land (Texas) Trent International. Despite starting three players at 6-9, Trent International (9-3) couldn’t stop the Bearkats (11-2) from getting in the lane and scoring. The Bearkats were led by Devonte Hall with 16 points, followed closely by Tevin Robertson with 15 and Deorvian Robinson with 14 points. The Phoenix were led by Ahmed Hamdy with 16 points.

PUTNAM CITY WEST 75, CAMDEN FAIRVIEW 43

A close game at halftime turned into a mercy-rule victory for Putnam City (Okla.) West Patriots. The Patriots (2-4) led Camden Fairview (3-5) 32-25 at halftime. Oklahoma City’s Omega Harris made four threepointers and scored 14 points in a 33-point third quarter for the Patriots. Harris sat out the fourth quarter, but led all scorers with 25 points.

FRIDAY’S LATE GAMES

BOYS

PULASKI ACADEMY 75, MAUMELLE 54 Brandon Brady scored 36 points, had 8 assists and grabbed 6 rebounds as the host Bruins evened their record. Lawson Korita, Chad Nichols and Chase Snider added nine points each for Pulaski Academy (2-2), which trailed 35-34 at halftime but outscored Maumelle (7-4) 41-19 in the second half.

GIRLS

DOVER 62, WALDRON 45 Carlee Williams scored 24 points and Kaitlin Meadors hit five fourth-quarter free throws to help the Lady Pirates (14-1, 4-0 4-1A) pull away from visiting Waldron. Meadors finished with 11 points, while Chesney Meyers and Laken Beavers contributed 10 points each. Dover led 30-23 at halftime and 42-35 after three quarters.

HIGH SCHOOL COACHES

Call us

Please call the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with basketball game reports as soon as possible Tuesday and Friday nights. Game reports can be called in to (501) 378-3411 or toll-free at 1-800-272-4650. Results can also be texted to (501) 766-5538. We need overall and conference records for both teams, score by quarters, as well as leading scorers.

Sports, Pages 35 on 12/23/2012