LITTLE ROCK — Little Rock McClellan’s halftime adjustment to its half-court defense resulted in 11 blocked shots and a tough 55-47 5A-Central victory over Mills at the Galaxy on Tuesday night.
“Instead of extending ourselves so much defensively, we moved back and established our half-court defense and made them earn what they got,” McClellan Coach Chris Threatt said.
McClellan’s defensive strategy led to a 12-4 run in the third quarter that opened up a double-digit lead. Center Derrick Hardy and Michael Thompson led the defensive attack with four blocks each. Hardy also led McClellan with 12 points, two of which started the third quarter outburst.
Jason Hendrix, who had nine points and 11 rebounds, coupled with two baskets each from Tyrin Hollis and Terrance Jones, led McClellan(17-7, 10-2) to a 41-30 lead.
That’s what Mills did in the second half after leading 26-22 late in the second quarter. Brandon Hansberry hit a three-pointer and Shaquon Fletcher scored five of his 14 points when Mills (14-9, 7-4) had the tempo of the game at its pace.
After Mills got consecutive three-point plays from Keylon Tappin and Hansberry, Chris Early hit a three-pointer for McClellan. Then Jones made two steals that resulted in two quick layups, the last one coming just before the firsthalf buzzer for a 29-26 lead.
Sports, Pages 28 on 02/13/2013