MILLS 67, PINE BLUFF 43
After a week of defensive emphasis, the Mills Comets put their work into action in the second quarter Friday night at The Galaxy.
After Pine Bluff had trimmed the Comets' lead to 11-9 late in the first quarter, Mills held the Zebras scoreless for more than three minutes and to just one field goal during a six-minute-plus stretch. The result was a 67-43 victory for Mills in a matchup of 6A/5A-5 unbeatens.
"All week long we didn't work on offense at all,'' Mills Coach Raymond Cooper said. "We worked on tightening up, making sure everything was contested, having hands in the passing lane, not sending guys to the free-throw line. The guys got better but we still have work do."
The Zebras (11-6, 3-1 6A/5A-5) were 3 of 12 in the first quarter, all three-pointers, and 3 of 15 in the second quarter as the Comets (18-1, 5-0) built a 31-17 halftime cushion. In the second quarter, when Mills held a 13-7 scoring edge, the Comets also forced seven turnovers.
"We played better defensively. That is what we have been focusing on this week," Cooper said. "Pine Bluff has a team that scores a lot, they have good shooters. They made five threes in the first half, so we really wanted to improve on our defense this game, and I was proud about that.
"Offensively, we were a little shaky in the first part of the game, but once we settled down we were OK."
The Comets led 59-28 to start the fourth quarter.
Darious Hall led the Comets with 16 points, while Grehlon Easter pitched in 13 and Quann Marshall scored 10.
Caleb Parker had four three-pointers and finished with 15 points for Pine Bluff. DeQuann Morris scored 10.
Sports on 01/21/2017