BENTONVILLE -- Little Rock Mills turned up the defense late, holding Bentonville High to just one field goal for most of the fourth quarter en route to a 63-51 win Saturday evening as part of the Holiday Hoopfest at Tiger Arena.
In earlier games, Baptist Prep pulled away from Little Rock Christian, and Little Rock Central ran past Pine Bluff.
Prep Basketball
Boys
Little Rock Mills 63, Bentonville 51
Mills^15^16^9^23^—^63
Bentonville^16^17^7^11^—^51
Little Rock Mills (3-0): Hall 19, Easter 15, Toney 12, Ware 7, Ford 3, Virden 3, McCrary 2, Jones 2.
Bentonville (0-1): Shanks 20, Hutchinson 8, Akbar 8, Smith 6, Hemphill 4, Phillips 3, Jarrett 2.
Arkansas signee Darious Hall poured in a team-high 19 points for the Comets, but contributed in plenty of other ways in the fourth quarter to help his team take control.
Hall came up with a pair of steals and also a couple of assists during a big 10-0 fourth-quarter run by the Comets. Junior guard Grehlon Easter banked in a 3-pointer to snap a 45-45 tie with three minutes left, and the Comets (3-0) never trailed again.
Mills coach Raymond Cooper said the 6-foot-6 senior has matured a great deal from last season and keyed the Comets on both ends of the floor in the victory.
"In the fourth quarter, he really stepped up big on both ends, especially on the defensive end," Cooper said. "He's an energetic player and a lot of times will get himself in trouble. Normally, he's one of the one's in foul trouble. Now he's learned to channel that.
"His decision-making on offense is a whole lot better. This year we've played him one through five. He just plugs a hole for us. If we need this, he does it for us."
Hall fed Easter for a driving layup from the high post, then canned two free throws with a minute left for a 57-45 lead, the largest of the night. Josh Smith finally snapped a scoring drought of more than three minutes with a 3-pointer to end a 15-0 Mills run.
Bentonville coach Jason McMahan said sophomore Michael Shanks being in foul trouble hurt his team, especially offensively, in the season-opener. The 6-5 forward led all scorers with 20 points, but he had just two after halftime and was Bentonville's only player in double figures. Shanks sat out part of the second quarter after picking up his third foul, then got his fourth less than a minute into the second half and went to the bench.
"We went a long time without scoring," McMahan said. "I felt like he was the guy. He had 18 points in the first half. I felt like we lost some rhythm offensively with the foul trouble. Once he hit that banked three, I felt like we ran out of gas."
Hall, who grabbed 11 rebounds, had three steals and dished out three assists, also played a huge role, McMahan said.
"He's such a good player," McMahan said. "I thought he made the plays defensively and he just got to every loose ball the last three or four minutes."
Easter chipped in 15 points, while 6-6 senior Jeremiah Toney added 12 -- all in the second half for Mills.
Baptist Prep 57, Little Rock Christian 46
Sophomore Isaac McBride scored six straight fourth-quarter points to help the Eagles pull away late for the win.
McBride scored a team-high 23 points, but hit two free throws and a pair of driving layups to turn a six-point advantage to 12 with less than three minutes left.
Connor Vanover, a 7-foot-3 Arkansas signee, chipped in 11, including a two-handed dunk with a minute left, while teammate Dylan Hogan added 13 for Baptist Prep (6-0).
Justice Hill, a 5-11 junior, poured in a game-high 25 points for Little Rock Christian (2-1), which trailed 24-19 at halftime.
Little Rock Central 80, Pine Bluff 62
The Tigers jumped to a 20-2 first-quarter lead and never really looked back.
Cameron Johnson, a 6-3 senior, poured in a game-high 26 points, including 16 in the first half. Central (3-0) led 39-27 at halftime and Pine Bluff (1-5) never got closer than 10 in the second half. Junior Kendrick Thorn led the Zebras with 22.
Sports on 11/27/2016