Mills Coach Raymond Cooper was expecting his team to take better care of the basketball in their game against Little Rock Central on Thursday night, but what he wasn't anticipating was the Comets' outstanding shooting.
The Comets hit 24 of 39 field goals (62 percent), including 11 three-pointers, in rolling past the Tigers, 75-46, in the opening round of the Jammin' for Jackets tournament at Cirks Arena.
"We shot it pretty good," Cooper said with a smile. "We didn't shoot it so great from the free-throw line. Shoot, we actually shot a better percentage from the three than we did at the free-throw line. I don't know how that happened.
"But I was pleased with everything. The way we played defense, the way we took care of the ball. Just an overall good game for us."
Senior guard Patrick Greene made five three-pointers and scored a game-high 21 points for Mills (5-2). Junior forward Kevin Cross added 11 points and 11 rebounds, while junior forward Kevin Cross had 11 points and 3 steals.
Mills also enjoyed a 34-28 rebounding edge and had just 10 turnovers, a far cry from the 28 the Comets had in their last game, Cooper said. The Comets did struggle from the free-throw line, hitting just 16 of their 28 free throws (57 percent), but that was the only place the Comets struggled.
"We came out and did what we needed to do," Cooper said. "We turned the ball over 28 times in our last game, and that was the thing I wanted us to focus on. We had to take care of the basketball, and we were able to do that within the flow of the game."
Sophomore guard Jeremiah Jones scored 11 points to lead Central (1-2), which trailed by 22 at halftime. Junior forward Dajun Brewer had 10 points. The Tigers finished the game 16 of 52 from the floor and committed 12 turnovers.
Mills led 23-18 with 5:35 left in the first half before using a quick 9-0 run, which was fueled by Greene hitting back-to-back three-pointers on consecutive possessions, to open up a 14-point lead. The Comets eventually led 48-26 at halftime and built their lead to 65-31 at the 11-minute mark of the second half before Cooper began substituting freely.
MILLS (75)
Ford 2 1-3 5, McCrary 2 2-2 7, Easter 3 1-2 8, Virden 3 2-4 11, Greene 7 2-2 21, Clark 0 1-2 1, Peaster 2 0-1, 5, Jefferson 0 0-0 0, Hinton 0 1-2 1, Smith 0 0-0 0, Cross 3 5-8 11, Wright 0 1-2 1, Jones 2 0-0 4, Keita 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 16-28 75.
CENTRAL (46)
Jackson 2 3-6 8, Dudley 1 0-0 3, Williams 1 2-4 4, Richardson 1 0-1 2, McIntosh 1 0-1 2, Brewer 3 4-5 10, Murry 0 0-0 0, Hunter 0 0-0 0, Sasser 3 0-0 6, Rudolph 0 0-0 0, Jones 4 2-2 11. Totals 16 11-19 46.
Halftime -- Mills 48, Central 26. Three-point goals -- Mills 11 (Greene 5, Virden 3, Easter, McCrary, Peaster); Central 3 (Jackson, Dudley, Jones). Team fouls -- Mills 20, Central 21. Fouled out -- McIntosh.
LITTLE ROCK PARKVIEW 88,
EPISCOPAL COLLEGIATE 40
Senior forward C.J. White scored 20 of his game-high 25 points in the first half as the Patriots rolled past the overmatched Wildcats.
Junior forward Airion Simmons scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Parkview (5-1), which used a 13-2 run late in the first half to open up a fairly close game. Junior guard Allen Flanigan added 12 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists for the Patriots.
Sophomore guard Treylon Payne had 21 points for Episcopal Collegiate (3-5). The Wildcats were within 23-16 following two free throws from Payne with 8:03 remaining in the first half, but Episcopal went scoreless on six consecutive trips, which allowed the Patriots to establish a lead they wouldn't give up.
Parkview finished 37-of-60 shooting and outrebounded Episcopal 40-15. The Wildcats finished 14 of 38 from the floor.
EPISCOPAL COLLEGIATE (40)
Payne 7 4-6 21, Chr. Smith 0 0-0 0, Che. Smith 2 2-2 7, Graham 3 1-1 8, Larracuente 1 0-0 2, Wade 1 0-0 2, Mitchell 0 0-0 0, Dassinger 0 0-0 0, Skowronski 0 0-0, Grawer 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 7-9 40.
PARKVIEW (88)
Terry 3 0-0 6, Henderson 4 0-0 8, Flanigan 6 0-0 12, White 9 0-0 25, Simmons 6 1-1 13, Farr 2 0-0 4, Gordon 2 4-4 8, Outley 2 2-3 6, Young 3 0-0 6, Thompson 0 0-0 0, Gore 0 0-0 0, Presley 0 0-0 0, Ross 0 0-0 0. Totals 37 7-8 88.
Halftime -- Parkview 49, Episcopal 26. Three-point goals -- Parkview 7 (White 7); Episcopal 5 (Payne 3, Che. Smith, Graham). Team fouls -- Parkview 12, Episcopal 12.
Sports on 12/08/2017