Jonesboro Coach Wes Swift had to go right to work Saturday.
Swift said he expected Springdale to open with a larger lineup, but fatigue from an overtime game the night before and illness limited Springdale to a smaller set of starters.
It took more than a quarter for Jonesboro to adjust, but once it did senior Marquise Pointer led the way to a 58-34 victory in the Holiday Hoops Invitational at Charging Wildcats Arena in North Little Rock.
"All we were doing at first was looking for threes, shooting threes, and the ball was never going into the paint," Swift said. "I was so frustrated with that."
Pointer led all scorers with 20 points.
"He's the catalyst," Springdale Coach Brad Stamps said. "He makes them go. He's a good player, but they have good ones around him. Coach Swift does such a good job."
Springdale led 5-0 midway through the first quarter and held a 10-6 advantage after senior forward Chris Owens' layup with 7:40 left in the second.
Owens led Springdale with 15 points.
Jonesboro (7-2) finished the game with a 35 rebounds, while Springdale had 17.
"That was a point of emphasis all week in practice," Swift said. "We said rebound the ball, rebound the ball, rebound the ball, so I'm very happy with that area."
A three-pointer by senior guard Jarma Perkins followed by a layup from Pointer gave Jonesboro an 11-10 lead one minute into the second quarter. It was the game's only lead change.
"That's been us all year," Stamps said. "We've gotten off to good starts. It's just a matter of maintaining that intensity level."
Jonesboro followed its six-point first quarter with 21 in the second to take command.
"We haven't gotten off to good starts lately," Swift said. "That's definitely a bit of a concern."
Junior guard Marcus Hunter gave Jonesboro a 41-25 lead late the third quarter.
Pointer hit two free throws and a layup on consecutive possessions to give Jonesbor0 50-31 lead with 7:26 left.
Springdale (4-7) lost 77-70 in overtime at Alma on Friday night. Stamps said six players were ill and missed the games Friday and Saturday.
"We got home late, got up early this morning and drove across the state, but that's not an excuse," Stamps said. "We showed up ready to play, but we played a really good basketball team."
SPRINGDALE (34)
Burton 1 0-0 2, Tutt 2 1-2 6, Elkar 1 0-0 2, Gause 2 3-3 7, Hignite 0 0-0 0, Young 0 0-0 0, Tate 0 0-0 0, Mahar 1 0-0 2, Bobo 0 0-0 0, Owens 6 2-4 15, Keeling 0 0-0 0, Gideon 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 6-9 34
JONESBORO (58)
Veasley 0 1-3 1, Brunson 2 3-4 8, Hunter 1 1-3 4, Pointer 7 4-4 20, Harvey 0 0-0 0, Yahaya 0 0-0 0, Jones 0 2-2 2, Perkins 3 0-0 8, Adams 1 1-2 3, Lewis 1 1-2 4, Scholtens 0 0-0 0, Landon 2 1-2 5, Washington 0 1-2 1. Totals 17 15-24 58
Springdale (4-7);8 9 14 3 -- 34
Jonesboro (7-2);6 21 19 12 -- 58
Three-point goals -- Springdale 2 (Tutt, Owens); Jonesboro 6 (Pointer 2, Perkins 2, Brunson, Lewis). Team fouls -- Springdale 20, Jonesboro 17.
Sports on 12/21/2014