CLASS 3A

Shoot, Harding has lots of options

— A day after Will Francis’ big night help propel Harding Academy into the semifinals, it was the shooting of John Locke Adair that paved the way for the Wildcats in their 55-44 victory over Jessieville in the Class 3A boys state tournament Saturday.

The senior guard hit five three-pointers and scored a game-high 30 points to help Harding Academy (27-6) advance to next week’s state championship game against Episcopal Collegiate.

“We executed much better than we did the last time we played them,” Harding Academy Coach Brad Francis said. “Offensively, we shot it a lot better. We were more prepared for their match-up zone this time around, and that’s what really got us going.”

Will Francis chipped in 11 points and 10 rebounds while Hayden Mathews finished with eight points and six rebounds, but it was Adair who shot down Jessieville’s chances at sending both itsboys and girls teams to the state finals.

Chase Anderson had 16 points to lead Jessieville. Jake Applegate added 13 points and Braden Davis 10.

The Lions got off to a hot start shooting and led 11-5 after Applegate’s three-pointer with 2:31 left in the first quarter. At that point, Jessieville (23-10) had hit 4 of 6 shots but all of those baskets came from outside of the lane.

Adair’s first three-pointer started a quarter-ending 8-0 run for the Wildcats. He added another three-pointer to start the second quarter, which was followed by a layup from Jessieville’s Johnny Jordan. But Adair’s two free throws started another sevenpoint burst that afforded the Wildcats the momentum they needed to keep the Lions at a distance.

EPISCOPAL COLLEGIATE 51, MCGEHEE 44

Episcopal Collegiate (32-3) erased a nine-point, third-quarter deficit with a 16-2 run and came up with several defensive stops late to beat McGehee (26-4) and head to the Class 3A title game.

Sophomore guard Mahlon Martin led the Wildcats with a game-high 20 points. Freshman guard Allie Freeman finished with 14 points and Justin Gooseberry had nine points and 15 rebounds.

Tracey Lawson had 16 points for Mc-Gehee and Zach Ellis 13.

Sports, Pages 32 on 03/03/2013

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