LITTLE ROCK — It will be difficult for any 3A-5 boys team to wrestle the conference title away from Episcopal Collegiate this season, but Jessieville’s stunning 51-39 victory over the host Wildcats on Saturday afternoon left the Lions feeling good about their chances.
Senior guard Braden Davis scored 24 points and grabbed six rebounds as the Lions (13-5, 5-3) handed the Wildcats (17-2, 7-1) their first loss on their home court in more than a year.
“This just puts us back into it,” Jessieville Coach Eddie Lamb said. “We dropped a few games earlier in the year when we had some injuries. There’s no excuse because they beat us, but we’re healthy now.”
Episcopal’s loss snapped a 13-game conference winning streak since the middle of last season. The Wildcats’ last league loss also came against Jessieville on Jan. 17, 2012.
Episcopal scored eight consecutive points in the third quarter to tie the game at 29-29, but Jessieville answered by scoring seven consecutive points in the final 1:55. Episcopal never got closer than four points the rest of the way.
“We had a boneheaded play on the press,” Episcopal Coach Micah Marsh said. “We missed a shot, then we gambled and the next thing we know, we’re down by six or seven.”
Jessieville center Jonny Jordan started the gametelling run by completing a three-point play. Guard Jake Applegate followed with a three-pointer.
“Our ability to push the lead back to seven or eight points was big,” Lamb said. “The momentum shifted their way. ... But we made a big play to stop it.”
Episcopal made only 4 of 13 shots in the fourth quarter, leaving the Wildcats little chance of a comeback. Overall, the Wildcats were only 15 of 49 from the floor.
“We had some good looks,” Marsh said. “We rushed a few shots, but we just didn’t shoot it well. There’s no science to that. You got to put it in the hole. When the other team plays a zone, you’ve got to hit some shots.”
Chase Anderson finished with 10 points and nine rebounds for the Lions.
Sophomore guard Mahlon Martin led the Wildcats with 14 points while also grabbing five rebounds. Kelvin Robinson added nine points and Justin Gooseberry led the Wildcats with eight rebounds.
Sports, Pages 31 on 01/20/2013