Little Rock Parkview’s dominance continues.
The top-ranked Patriots jumped out to a huge first half lead and never let up in rolling to a 76-41 victory over Russellville on Friday night at Charles Ripley Arena.
Daryl Macon turned in a game-high 25 points to go along with 5 rebounds and 5 assists to help Parkview (13-1, 3-0) remain unbeaten in 7A/6A-Central Conference play. Jaylen Franklin added 15points, while Jason Hendrix had 12 points and Charles Washington chipped in 11.
“We could have had a lot more steals,” Parkview Coach Al Flanigan said. “We sat back and didn’t get in that passing lane, but overall I was pleased with them. I can’t be too hard on them.”
No doubt Parkview was tough on Russellville.
The Patriots, who have invoked the Arkansas Activities Association’s sportsmanship rule in nine games this season, led from start to finish and were never threatened after using a 9-0 run midway through the first quarter to turn an 8-7 lead into a 10-point cushion. Macon scored 11first-quarter points, including back-to-back three-pointers to open the game, to help Parkview take a 24-13 lead into the second quarter.
Washington quickly pushed the Patriots’ margin to 15 with two driving layups before Andy Campbell’s three-point play briefly got Russellville (8-6, 2-1) going offensively. Parkview responded by scoring on its next four possessions to open a 21-point lead and led 44-26 at halftime.
“I thought we did a pretty good job in spurts there in that first half,” Flanigan said. “We knew [Russellville] was going to do a lot of back screens and cross-picking, but I’ve got to give credit to my assistant coaches. Those guys really help me out and get us ready for games like this one.”
The Cyclones used a lot of screens to try to free up their shooters, namely Campbell and Cody Underhill, but the problem was the Patriots were able to close out quickly and use their quickness to corral the majority of the rebounds.
Macon scored six of Parkview’s first eight points of the third quarter, including a driving two-handed dunk, to help put Russellville in an even deeper hole. The Cyclones made just four baskets in the period and only one in the fourth quarter. Washington’s four-point play with 3:54left in the game started a running clock.
Campbell scored 12 points to lead Russellville, which made 14 of 30 from the field. Tony Jones finished with 11. Parkview finished 29 of 46 from the floor and held a 25-15 rebounding edge.
Sports, Pages 28 on 01/18/2014