Reaves establishes mindset for scoring

The last time Cedar Ridge Coach Isaac Middlebrooks brought his team to Bank of the Ozarks Arena for a state championship game, Austin Reaves was a 6-3 sophomore guard whose primary role was to facilitate for others.

The Timberwolves won the 2014 Class 2A crown with Reaves in a secondary role.

Middlebrooks has tweaked the game plan in the past two seasons, and it's helped get Cedar Ridge back in a state title game. When the sixth-year coach leads his team into today's Class 3A final against Charleston at 2:30 p.m., he still expects Reaves to create for his teammates, but the scoring aspect has changed.

"We didn't ask him to score a whole lot for us as a sophomore," Middlebrooks said. "He's always going to try to get his teammates involved, but he's one of the rare few that can turn it on. He knows that he has to score for us."

Now a 6-5 senior, Reaves is averaging 33 points, 11 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game for Cedar Ridge (35-3), which is riding a 29-game winning streak. Class 5A-East member Valley View beat the Timberwolves 61-60 on Dec. 5 to hand them their last loss, but Cedar Ridge later avenged that with an 89-84 triple-overtime victory on the strength of Reaves' 56 points during the Northeast Arkansas Tournament.

He had scored 49 points one night earlier in a 73-70 victory over Nettleton, and that output came on the heels of a 57-point outing against Jonesboro Westside the night before. In that game, Reaves scored his team's final 35 points -- including 33 in the fourth quarter -- to turn a 14-point deficit into a 71-69 victory. In all, Reaves scored 191 points in four games during the tournament, which easily shattered the event's single-game record.

"I really just try to get better," Reaves said. "I know I can't have an off night now. As a ninth- and 10th-grader, my roll was a lot different. But now, me and Cade [Crabtree] have to score.

"We've got other guys that contribute in a lot of different ways, but we know what we have to do."

Crabtree, a 6-3 senior forward, has had his share of high-scoring games as well, but it's Reaves who makes the Timberwolves go, and opposing teams know it. They just haven't been able to do anything about it.

"He knows what's coming at him," Middlebrooks said. "He knows teams are scheming to stop him. But he's so focused and so tuned in that it doesn't bother him. He plays the same way every game, and it's really hard to stop him when he gets going."

Forrest City found out just how hard it is to stop Reaves when it faced Cedar Ridge in mid-December. The Mustangs, who will play Maumelle today at 6 p.m. in the Class 5A championship game, lost 117-115 to the Timberwolves in three overtimes behind Reaves' 73 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists. R.J. Glasper scored 59 points for Forrest City, but his total seemed like an afterthought because of what Reaves was able to do.

"He makes things happen, and that's what good players do," Charleston Coach B.J. Ross said of Reaves, whose 73 points is the fifth-highest scoring game ever in Arkansas high school basketball. "He draws so much attention from other teams that he opens things up for his teammates to score and make plays. And that's what makes him so hard to defend.

"Teams will try to double him, and you look up and Crabtree's got 25 or 30. So [Reaves] can hurt you in more ways than one."

Reaves, who verbally committed to Wichita State in January, has continued his torrid scoring during the state tournament, where he scored 130 points in three games, including another 57-point night in an 86-59 victory over McGehee in the opening round.

Charleston (26-6) will take its turn at trying to slow Reaves today. The Tigers are known for their physicality and may try to throw different bodies at Reaves to give him different looks.

Ross said his team has to rebound the ball on both ends of the floor to limit Cedar Ridge's offensive possessions.

"We've got to box out," he said. "[Reaves] is very good in transition, so we've got to get on the boards. And then on offense, we've got to be efficient and do the things we've done all year. My guys are a confident bunch, and that's not being cocky or anything.

"It's just that they really believe in themselves. I don't think they'll be nervous or anything. They just want to take care of business."

The Tigers are led by guard Brandon Fenner, who averaged 29 points in the team's three state tournament victories last week. He scored 26 to help Charleston hold off Osceola 62-56 in the semifinals.

"He can pull up and shoot it from anywhere," Middlebrooks said. "The team overall is solid, especially on defense. They've got kids that have played at this level before so they aren't going to be intimidated by any means.

"It may end up being a game where whomever has the ball last wins."

If that happens to be Cedar Ridge, who has the ball won't be a secret.

"I've seen just about everything on defense, so I've just got to make plays and execute," Reaves said. "If that means finding an open teammate, then that's what I'll try to do. But if I'm in a situation where I think I've got an edge on offense, I'm going to take advantage of it."

Sports on 03/12/2016