MAUMELLE -- Maumelle protected its conference lead in a foul-ridden 79-59 victory over visiting Clarksville on Friday night.
JB Minix led Maumelle (14-4, 5-0 5A-West) with 20 points, while teammates Gary Burton and Tremont Robinson added 18 points apiece in the victory that was marred by a fire-alarm delay at halftime and three technical fouls in the fourth quarter, one leading to Robinson's ejection.
"We talked about playing from the beginning to the end, because we knew it was going to be a battle," Maumelle Coach Michael Shook said. "There at the end things kind of got a little out of hand, but we did a good job during the game of making runs. We were able to jump out and get a lead a little bit and we stuck to our game plan."
Minix had eight-first quarter points and broke open a 12-11 game with two consecutive baskets from the baseline. Robinson had a three-point play and his nine first-quarter points helped give Maumelle a 27-18 lead.
Clarksville (9-11, 0-5) fought back behind Casey Benton's 17 points. His three-pointer early in the second quarter closed Maumelle's lead to 29-25, but Burton put back an offensive miss and Minix sank two free throws before baskets from Braylon Waits and Blake Conner pushed the lead to 37-25.
Clarksville's Logan Wood, who had 13 points, had a basket to cut the deficit to 44-33 at halftime.
Maumelle kept a lead of more than 10 points in the second half behind its top three scorers. A late three-point play by Devonte Lott gave Maumelle a 61-45 advantage.
Clarksville couldn't get any closer as the Panthers were called for two technical fouls midway through the fourth quarter that led to a 71-51 Maumelle lead after Robinson completed a three-point play and made the technical free throws. An intentional foul called against Clarksville led to Robinson's ejection with 3:15 left in the game.
Minix capped the Maumelle victory by scoring its last seven points.
CLARKSVILLE (59)
Benton 5 6-9 17, Wood 5 0-2 13, Navarro 3 2-2 9, Stumbaugh 3 0-0 6, Patton 3 0-0 6, Hernandez 2 1-2 5, Baker 1 1-2 3. Totals: 22 10-17 59.
MAUMELLE (79)
Minix 8 4-8 20, Tr. Robinson 7 4-4 18, Burton 5 8-11 18, Ty. Robinson 4 0-0 9, Conner 2 1-1 5, Waits 1 1-5 3, Lott 1 1-1 3, Nixon 1 0-2 2, Rutledge 0 1-2 1. Totals: 29 20-34 79.
Clarksville (9-11); 18 15 12 14 -- 59
Maumelle (14-4); 27 17 17 18 -- 79
Three-point goals: Clarksville 5 (Wood 3, Benton, Navarro), Maumelle 1 (Ty. Robinson). Team fouls: Clarksville 27, Maumelle 21. Fouled out: Stumbaugh, Patton. Technical fouls: Clarksville bench, Benton, Tr. Robinson.
Sports on 01/24/2015