Two times Friday night, Mills Coach Raymond Cooper had to push the right buttons in the Comets' 88-61 victory over the Little Rock McClellan Lions at McClellan.
The first time was a wholesale substitution in the first quarter after the Comets (21-1, 8-0 6A-5A-5) failed to score while missing four shots and turning the ball over three times in the first three minutes of the game. A 2-0 deficit turned into a 9-2 lead in less than a minute.
"I think our guys didn't come over ready to play the way McClellan was going to play us," Cooper said. "This is a rivalry game, and I think our guys thought since we won handily last time it was going to be easy this time. That is not the case. When you come here, you have got to be ready to play."
Cooper inserted Jereme Allen, Taydrean Ford, Orion Virden, Vincent Curne and Abdulaye Keita from off the bench, and they made 4 of 5 shots and forced two turnovers. They remained in the game as a group until 1:35 was left in the first quarter and Mills up 12-7.
Cooper's second button was to challenge senior Quawn Marshall at halftime. The point guard responded with 8 points, 2 steals and 1 assist in a 12-2 run in the third quarter that put the contest away. Mills led 42-38 at halftime and 65-46 by the end of the quarter.
"He stepped up big, and as a leader I challenged him at halftime for us to step up and for us to raise our level of play, and as a leader and our point guard that is what he does," Cooper said. "He's our unsung hero all season long. He makes the whole engine go. He's highly underrated because he is a true point guard."
Marshall finished with 14 points. Darious Hall, Jeremiah Toney and Grehlon Easter all 15 points.
The third quarter did in the Lions (5-15, 3-8). They hit just 2 of 9 shots and struggled with 8 turnovers.
"We are young, and you do not know what you are going to get when they are young,'' McClellan Coach Chris Threatt said. "So you have to be patient and just grow. That is what this year really is.
"So the first half showed some of the potential, and the second half showed a team that was just satisfied to be in the game that actually has four quarters. We have grown up some, but it is not really showing in the record."
Sophomore Jamarius Campbell, with four three-pointers, led the Lions with 14 points. Ian Robinson had 12, while Marcis Hall and Tyrese Lair scored 11 apiece. Lair was 9 of 10 on three throws, all in the second quarter, and McClellan was 20 of 31 from the line for the game.
Sports on 02/04/2017