PARAGOULD -- Maumelle Coach Michael Shook didn't like the style of basketball his team was playing in the fourth quarter, but he enjoyed the outcome.
Sophomore Tremont Robinson hit a driving layup with 3.7 seconds left to give the Hornets a come-from-behind 51-49 victory over the Jacksonville Red Devils in Monday's quarterfinal round of the Class 5A state tournament at Greene County Tech.
Robinson's layup was set up by a strip by sophomore guard Darius Tate while Jacksonville was attempting to hold for a last-second shot.
"Darius is a sophomore who makes good decisions," Shook said. "He got the strip and he sent a good pass to Tremont, who made the layup. We had missed a lot of layups early in the game. I'm just glad we hit that one."
Jacksonville (20-8) hit two three-pointers in the game's first minute and led for the majority of the game. The Red Devils led 21-11 after the first quarter and 34-25 at the half, but Jacksonville managed only five field goals the rest of the game.
There were a combined nine points scored in the fourth quarter with both teams taking a conservative offensive approach.
"I didn't like the way we were playing," Shook said. "It's totally against my way of thinking, but the guys came to me and said, 'We got this. Trust us.' I put my trust in them. I'm glad I did."
Jacksonville senior Devin Campbell scored 24 points for the second consecutive game, hitting 5 three-pointers and 7 of 8 from the free-throw line. He also had the Red Devils' lone field goal of the fourth quarter. No other Jacksonville player had more than six points.
Robinson finished with 18 points for Maumelle. Senior Blake Conner scored 10 points, and J.B. Minix and D.J. Johnson added nine each.
Maumelle finished 17 of 57 from the floor but outrebounded the Red Devils 37-27. Jacksonville made only 14 of 45 shots but was 6 of 13 from three-point range.
LITTLE ROCK FAIR 62, VILONIA 54
It took one quarter for Little Rock Fair to figure out how to put a damper on Vilonia 6-8 post player Garrett Brown.
Kris Bankston and junior guard Jerrick Cole scored 14 points each as Fair earned a quarterfinal victory over the Eagles.
Brown scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the first eight minutes but was contained the rest of the game and finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
"We knew he was going to post up in the middle," Fair Coach Charlie Johnson said. "We had to take away that and give up something."
Bankston turned into a major force in the final three quarters. The War Eagles sophomore almost matched Brown's numbers with 14 points and 11 rebounds. He also blocked four shots.
"I think Kris intimated some of their players because they realized he could block a few shots," Johnson said. "He had a good game, and we're talking about a 10th-grader in a state tournament. He played well. I'm proud of him."
Nick Jones added 12 points and five steals for Fair.
Vilonia (20-9) led 13-6 after the first quarter, but Cole and Bankston reversed the War Eagles' fortunes as the combined for 16 second-quarter points. Fair was ahead 26-21 going into halftime. By the start of the fourth, Fair's advantage was 39-28.
Bankston did not score in the third quarter, but he made 3 steals, grabbed 4 rebounds and handed out 2 assists. Fair freshman Berry Sykes came off the bench and scored eight of his 10 points in the third quarter.
Vilonia junior guards Austin Newell and Josh Greer scored eight points each in the fourth quarter to give the Eagles some life, but the Eagles were never closer than seven in the final eight minutes.
Greer and Newell scored 10 points each, and junior Charlie Thomas added nine. Newell handed out four assists and made five steals.
Sports on 03/10/2015