HOT SPRINGS -- Mills delivered an early knockout in Friday's championship game of the Spa City Shootout.
The Comets jumped out to a 24-0 lead on their way to a convincing 86-61 victory over Sylvan Hills at the Bank of the Ozarks Arena, winning the tournament for the third consecutive year.
Junior Branton McCrary scored 11 points in the first 4:44, finishing with 27 while grabbing 8 rebounds as the Comets (10-2) won their ninth consecutive game.
"We didn't expect that," Mills Coach Raymond Cooper said of the Comets' fast start. "We got some steals early and got out to a good lead. We just held on from there."
It was a championship game in name only. The Comets missed their first field-goal attempt but hit 11 of their next 12 shots, including three-pointers from McCrary and 6-5 center Kaevon Jones.
Sylvan Hills (6-7) missed its first eight shots from the floor and did not score until Jalen Ricks completed a three-point play with 3:02 left in the first quarter.
Playing for the second consecutive night after a 19-day layoff, Mills led 34-12 after the first quarter and 57-28 at the half. The Comets finished 34 of 64 (53.1 percent) from the floor and outrebounded the Bears 42-24.
"It was inexperience vs. experience," Sylvan Hills Coach Kevin Davis said. "We lost everybody from last year's team. We have one senior returning and we have two ninth graders starting. ... I was proud of our guys for even getting into that game."
The Bears made nine three-pointers, and junior Demetrius Torrence came off the bench to score 17 points and grab 11 rebounds.
Mills had too much of a lead and too many weapons for the Bears to mount a serious comeback.
Junior forward Kevin Cross, who started the Comets' scoring 39 seconds into the game, added 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Senior Grehlon Easter scored 16 points and Jones scored 7 of his 9 points in the opening quarter.
Sylvan Hills could only get as close as 63-37 in the third quarter as the Comets led 84-54 to start the fourth.
"I watched the Houston Rockets lose a 26-point lead in the second half the other night," Cooper said. "Anything can happen in basketball, especially with the three-pointer and the way they were hitting them. I wanted for us to stay focused. ... We did enough."
Ricks, a 6-4 freshman, added 13 points for Sylvan Hills.
"You know, we needed to be in that kind of a game," Davis said. "As ugly as the score got, we need to learn to play through some things and realize that sometimes it's not as bad as it really seems. ... Our guys were able to come back and battle a little bit."
Sports on 12/30/2017