6A/5A-3 BOYS
WEST MEMPHIS 66, WYNNE 45
WEST MEMPHIS -- Senior Kelsey Hubbard, who missed more than a month of the season due to injury, scored 8 of his team-high 11 points in the pivotal moments between the third and fourth quarter as the West Memphis Blue Devils rolled to a 66-45 triumph over the Wynne Yellow Jackets.
The Blue Devils (22-2, 15-1 6A/5A-3) started slowly without star sophomore Chris Moore in the starting lineup. Moore and junior Cavin Paige did not start because it was Senior Night.
Moore, who played limited minutes, didn't enter the game until early in the second quarter with his team clinging to an 18-12 lead.
"Senior Night is just so emotional and it's just hard to quantify how it affects the way your team plays," said West Memphis Coach Marcus Brown. "I remember my own senior night in college (for Murray State). I had so much stuff going through my head that it was hard to get it going early in the game."
Wynne (8-16, 5-11) hit 4 of 9 three-pointers in the first half and kept it close, trailing only 29-21 at intermission.
The Yellow Jackets cut the West Memphis lead to six twice in the third quarter before the Blue Devils finally broke through. After hitting only 3 of their first 9 three-point attempts, the Blue Devils connected on 3 of their next 5, starting with a Curtis Washington three with 23 seconds left in the quarter and the team getting a layup off a steal from senior C.J. Prackett at the third-quarter buzzer to give the hosts a 45-35 lead.
Another Washington three and a Hubbard three-ball in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter put the game out of reach for Wynne.
Hubbard said he didn't allow himself to get over-anxious while sitting out over a month with a high ankle sprain.
"Coach just kept telling me to trust the process and that I would be back in time to help us late in the season," Hubbard said.
Prackett added 9 points for West Memphis, while Sidney Stinson and Washington each poured in 8.
Kameron Clark led Wynne with 13 points while Devon Light hit 12 and Tyler Hutchieson scored 10.
Sports on 02/10/2018