CLASS 1A

Screamin’ Eagles roll with Evans’ 41 points

— Hillcrest junior Coleman Evans scored 41 points to lead the Screamin’ Eagles to a 64-50 victory over KIPP: Delta in the first round of the Class 1A boys state tournament Tuesday.

Hillcrest will play the winner of today’s 5:30 p.m. Scranton-Bradley game at 8:30 p.m. Thursday.

Evans scored the first 10 points, including two threepointers, and helped Hillcrest to an early 13-7 lead.

“He’s capable of scoring 40 or more,” Hillcrest Coach Andy Durham said. “He hit some big shots today.”

Evans scored the first four points in the second quarter for a 21-14 advantage but did not score the remainder of the half. That left the door ajar for KIPP: Delta, which used two baskets by Jaterius Montague and a three-point play and another basket by Jaquarius Martin for a 25-23 lead. Patrick Banks’ three-pointer with 3 seconds left in the first half gave KIPP: Delta a 30-25 advantage at intermission.

But that’s when Evans went to work. He scored five quick points for a 30-30 tie, and four Hillcrest scored during an 8-0 run as the Screamin’ Eagles took a lead they would never relinquish.

Hillcrest’s 48-35 lead at the end of the third quarter was its largest. KIPP:Delta chipped away at the margin in the fourth quarter but could never get closer than 50-44 with five minutes left.

“They didn’t get a lot of second shots,” Durham said of KIPP: Delta, which held a height advantage with the 6-7 Montague and the 6-5 Martin. “We did a good job of blocking out.”

Quenton Murry led KIPP: Delta with 15 points and Montague added 12.

Sports, Pages 25 on 02/27/2013

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