CONWAY -- Caleb Kirk gave the West boys their biggest lead Thursday night when he nailed his first 3-point attempt during the Arkansas High School boys All-Star basketball game.
The only problem is the former Huntsville standout's shot came in the first quarter.
Arkansas High School Coaches Association All-Star boys basketball game
East 100, West 83
East^17^19^23^12^29^—^100
West^18^8^13^18^26^—^83
East: Hayes 17, Ricks 15, Groesbeck 12, Knox 11, Chew 8, Brewington 7, Perkins 7, Henderson 6, Ellis 6, Martin 4, Dunkum 4, Armstrong 3.
West: Harris 14, Smith 10, Ward 11, Dailey 9, Owens 9, Kirk 6, Krueger 6, Eckwood 6, Jackson 5, Simmons 3, Huskey 2, Siebenmorgan 2.
The East controlled the next two quarters and built a 20-point halftime cushion, then held off a late West comeback attempt for a 100-83 victory at Central Arkansas' Farris Center.
"They obviously had a lot more kids that could go up and down the floor," West head coach Tim Tencleve of Subiaco Academy said. "The East was good, I mean very good. The kids battled and got down, then came back and got back in it.
"If you take out a few spells where things went really south, especially in that third quarter, it would have been a good effort."
Kirk's 3-pointer gave the West an 18-14 lead with 54 seconds left in the first quarter, a margin that was cut to one when Keith Hayes of Little Rock McClellan hit a 3-pointer before the quarter ended. Gary Henderson of West Memphis then hit a three-point play to start the second quarter, and the East never trailed again.
The West did manage to tie the game at 22 on a jumper by Seth Siebenmorgan of Scranton midway through the second quarter, but that's when the momentum went the East's way. A 14-4 run to end the second quarter gave the East a 36-26 cushion, and it was turned into a 59-39 cushion before halftime ended.
"They just got away in the first half," said Chris Owens of Springdale High, who played the third quarter for the West. "They were getting fast-break layups, and they were getting the rebounds and pushing us. Coach was telling us we have to get back and play good defense."
Cameron Ricks of Pulaski Mills gave the East its biggest lead, 71-49, midway through the fourth quarter before the West made things a little interesting. It closed out the fourth quarter with eight unanswered points to pull within 71-57, then pulled as close as 89-80 with 1:55 remaining on back-to-back 3-pointers by Matthew Ward of Charleston.
Owens, who finished with nine points for the West, followed a Ricks layup with one of his own to made it a nine-point game. However, that proved to be his team's last bucket before the East pulled away again.
"We told one of our good players we had to be aggressive, and he started bringing us back," Owens said. "Everybody pitched in and brought us back a little bit.
"With a 22-point deficit, it was going to take a big run. Every time we tried to make a run, they would find a way to knock us back down."
Hayes had 17 points to lead four East players in double figures, followed by Ricks with 15, Preston Groesbeck of Mountain Home with 12 and Richard Knox of Clarendon with 11. Tyrik Harris of England paced the West with 14, followed by Ward with 11 and Jaquez Smith of Hope with 10.
Sports on 06/26/2015