High school basketball report

Nation’s No. 1 set for Hall

Little Rock Hall’s Javon Perry shoots the ball over the back of teammate Devon James during the Warriors’ 60-24 victory over Greenwood on Friday in Little Rock. The Warriors will play Monteverde (Fla.) Academy, ranked the No. 1 team in the country by Maxpreps.com and ESPN, in Thursday’s opening round of the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions in Springfield, Mo.
Little Rock Hall’s Javon Perry shoots the ball over the back of teammate Devon James during the Warriors’ 60-24 victory over Greenwood on Friday in Little Rock. The Warriors will play Monteverde (Fla.) Academy, ranked the No. 1 team in the country by Maxpreps.com and ESPN, in Thursday’s opening round of the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions in Springfield, Mo.

— Nation’s No. 1 set for Hall

Little Rock Hall’s schedule just became a little tougher.

The Warriors (10-3) will play Montverde (Fla.) Academy in Thursday’s opening round of the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions in Springfield, Mo. Montverde is ranked No. 1 in the nation by Maxpreps.com and by ESPN.

“I got a call last week to let me know who we drew in the first round,” Hall Coach Jon Coleman said. “I was a little surprised, but we see it as a great opportunity.

The players are looking forward to it.”

Montverde (17-0) features six players who are listed as Division I recruits, including 6-0 senior guard Kasey Hill, who has signed with Florida, and 6-10 senior center Dakari Johnson, who has committed to Kentucky.

Montverde Academy compiled a 22-5 record during the 2011-2012 season and were ESPN’s preseason No. 1 team. The Eagles’ coach, Kevin Boyle, is a three-time national coach of the year.

“They have a lot of size and quickness,” said Coleman, whose program has earned three consecutive state titles.

“Their point guard is one of the best in the country, and they have depth at the post position. [But] if we can play a patient game, I think we have a chance to be successful.”

Hall has already played two nationally-ranked teams this season. North Little Rock, the state’s top-ranked team, is currently No. 25 in the MaxPreps.com poll.

Memphis White Station is ranked No. 10 in MaxPreps.

Hall also has two games left with Little Rock Parkview, which is ranked at No. 66 in a national poll.

If the Warriors happen to upset Montverde on Thursday night, Hall will next play on national television. CBS Sports Network will televise the tournament’s semifinals and final Friday and Saturday.

“We have some incentive to win,” Coleman said. “We want to play on TV.”

LR CATHOLIC

A great 4th quarter

Little Rock Catholic never trailed in earning a 45-40 victory over Fort Smith Southside on Friday night, but it took a nine point fourth-quarter from sophomore D.J. Brown to keep the Rockets from extending a seven-game losing streak.

Brown scored all but three of his points in the fourth quarter, and he was also the only Catholic player to make a field goal in the final 10 minutes.

“He’s quick and he plays the game at a pace that’s kind of hard to handle,” Catholic Coach Tim Ezzi said. “He can give some offenses some problems. He came in and got a couple of steals. He did a good job.”

Southside had pulled within 36-35 with 3:33 to play on a three-pointer by Clayton Pankey. After a Rockets’ missed shot, the Rebels had the ball with a chance to take a lead.

But Brown made a steal at midcourt, hit a layup and an ensuing free throw to push Catholic’s lead back to 39-35.

Brown hit two free throws with 1:31 remaining to give the Rockets a 41-36 lead. His layup 32 seconds later again gave the Rockets a five-point cushion. Brown also bought the Rockets some time late in the game by knocking a Southside pass out of bounds.

Brown had three of the Rockets’ seven steals, including two in the fourth quarter.

“Our whole defense was working and rotating, causing a few of those,” said Ezzi, whose team improved to 2-8. “They came when we needed it.”

SHORT SHOTS

Paragould’s girls had a 25-game conference winning streak snapped Friday at Beebe. Jamie Jackson’s 26 points helped the Lady Badgers earn a 44-40 victory. The Lady Rams (10-4, 2-1 5A-East) had not lost a conference game since losing to Greene County Tech two years ago.

Charleston’s girls had an 89-game conference winning streak broken prior to the holiday break.

Paris knocked off the Lady Tigers on Dec. 21.

County Line’s Justin Gattis scored 36 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in Friday’s 67-63 victory over host Cedarville. In the same game, Cedarville’s Garrett Parson scored 32 points and had 10rebounds.

Pocahontas made 9 of 10 free throws in overtime to defeat Valley View 51-40 on Friday night. Jacob Futrell, who led the Redskins with 21 points, hit 6 of 6 free throws in the extra period.

Jontavis Willis not only scored 32 points in Norphlet’s 68-38 victory over Hermitage on Friday night, but he also had 5 steals and blocked 4 shots. Norphlet (10-4) improved to 6-0 in the 2A-7 East.

Norphlet and Strong - both unbeaten in the 2A-7 East girls race - are scheduled to play in Strong on Friday. Norphlet is 16-0. Strong 12-2.

LAST-SECOND SHOTS

Jeremy Blackmon, a 6-3 junior for Hot Springs, hit a game winning shot at the buzzer to give the Trojans a 53-51 victory over Camden Fairview on Friday. The Trojans - led by 14 points by Juwan Nero - are 5-11 overall, but are 3-0 in the 5A-South and tied with Hot Springs Lakeside for the conference lead. ... Parker Chapel’s Austen Burton hit a shot with 19 seconds left in regulation and the Trojans went on to take a 50-45 overtime victory over Hampton on Friday.

At a glance

BASS PRO TOC Springfield, Mo.

Thursday’s games

Game 1 Prestonwood Christian, Texas vs. St. John Bosco, Calif., 5 p.m.

Game 2 Hillcrest, Mo., vs. Paul VI, (Va.), 6:30 p.m.

Game 3 Nixa, Mo., vs. Bullitt East (Ky.), 8 p.m.

Game 4 Little Rock Hall vs. Monteverde, Fla., 9:30 p.m.

Friday’s games

Game 5 Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 4:30 p.m.

Game 6 Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 6 p.m.

Game 7 Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 7:30 p.m.

Game 8 Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 9 p.m.

Saturday’s games

Seventh-place game, 3:30 p.m.

Fifth-place game, 5 p.m.

Third-place game, 6:30 p.m.

Championship, 8:30 p.m.

Sports, Pages 29 on 01/13/2013

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