JONESBORO - Senior Kahron Ross continued his hot streak for Jonesboro at the Class 6A state tournament Monday.
Ross followed his 33-point performance in Thursday’s first-round victory with 30 points Monday in a 58-47 victory over Little Rock Fair, leading the Hurricane into today’s semifinals.
“Kahron is locked in and I’ve been saying that for three weeks now,” Jonesboro Coach Wes Swift said. “He’s just really locked in and playing well. He doesn’t always have to give us 30. He’s had 8-12 point games and nine assists, it’s just whatever the need is.”
Ross, who has signed to play at Lehigh, made all 13 of his free throws in addition to eight field goals. Jonesboro was 12 of 22 from the line.
Junior guard Marquise Pointer added 12 points for Jonesboro.
“He is very under control with his game right now, which is good,” Swift said. “I’m happy with where Marquise is and if anyone thinks they’re going to shut down Kahron and shut us down, that’s not going to happen. Marquise can go get us 30 also. I like the one-two combination there.
“I’m just feeling good right now because I want to win it all,” Ross said. “I want it very bad, so I’m playing my heart out.”
Nick Jones led Fair with 22 points, hitting 5 three-pointers and 5 of 6 free throws.
Jonesboro led 12-2 with 3:13 left in the first quarter after a basket by by Ross, who finished with eight first-quarter points. The Hurricane led 14-5 after one quarter.
“We were just working well as a team,” Ross said of his team’s team’s first half defensive effort. “If someone got beat, someone else was stepping up on their penetration. We were just trying to be a wall as a team.”
Ross added eight points in the second quarter as Jonesboro led 33-15 at the half after a 14-4 run midway through the quarter. The Hurricane maintained a healthy advantage before Fair hit six throws late to cut the margin to 11 points.
“Defensively in the first half I thought we were solid. I didn’t think we were great but I thought we were solid,” Swift said of his team’s defense before the second half. “When you get the big lead, as sometimes kids do, you lose a little focus. Maybe not focus but intensity.”
LR PARKVIEW 78, SILOAM SPRINGS 47
Daryl Macon scored 23 of his 33 points in the first half, and Little Rock Parkview (26-1) dominated to advance to today’s semifinal.
Parkview turned a 21-10 first-quarter lead into a 48-22 halftime lead.
It was 69-37 entering the fourth quarter, which was played with a continuously running clock.
Ryan Pippins scored 12 points for the Patriots, 10 in the first half, as Parkview cleared their bench for the final quarter. Khalil Garland added nine points for Parkview while Jaylen Franklin scored seven.
The Patriots made 26 of 40 from the free-throw line and made eight three-pointers, including six from Macon,.
Reece Goddard led Siloam Springs (12-15) with 24 points, including six three pointers. Dylan Gray had 14 points, seven in the first quarter before banging his knee and struggling the remainder of the game.
LR HALL 66, PINE BLUFF 46
Little Rock Hall steadily pulled away from Pine Bluff to set up a semifinal matchup with rival Little Rock Parkview tonight. Hall, which led 17-16 after one quarter, opened a 32-23 halftime advantage, but Pine Bluff didn’t give in. The Zebras outscored Hall 13-10 in the third quarter and trailed 42-36 entering the fourth quarter before Kalyon Tappin (25 points) and the Warriors pulled away.
Sports, Pages 20 on 03/11/2014