WEST MEMPHIS -- The West Memphis boys put five players in double figures as the Blue Devils defeated Searcy 86-58 at Lehr Arena in the first round of the 6A-East Conference tournament.
The Blue Devils (25-2) made 9 three-pointers and got 10 points, 11 rebounds and 6 blocked shots from sophomore Chris Moore.
West Memphis bolted to a 9-0 lead and never looked back. The Blue Devils led Searcy 25-11 at the end of the first quarter, and they held a 48-29 cushion at halftime.
"When we're making three-pointers, we're dangerous," West Memphis head Coach Marcus Brown said. "I liked our pace, our ball movement and our focus."
The Blue Devils will host Pine Bluff on Tuesday night at 6 in the semifinals.
A three-pointer by senior guard C.J. Prackett, who led all scorers with 19 points, gave the Blue Devils a 30-point lead (76-46) with 7:17 to play in the fourth quarter.
West Memphis shot 57 percent from the field (30 of 52) and they made 9 of 16 three-point attempts (56.2 percent).
Senior swingman Zach Byrd scored 16 points while guard Curtis Washington hit 12 and fellow senior Kelsey Hubbard pumped in 11 to go along with 4 assists.
Junior point guard Cavin Paige had a game-high eight assists against only three turnovers.
West Memphis outrebounded Searcy (9-20) 27-17.
The Lions got 17 points apiece from Freddy Hicks and Cade Riggan.
6A-EAST GIRLS
WEST MEMPHIS 64,
JACKSONVILLE 53
WEST MEMPHIS — The West Memphis girls used a powerful finish to the first half, then held off a Jacksonville rally Saturday at Lehr Arena for a 64-53 victory in the first round of the 6A-East Conference tournament.
West Memphis (15-13) built a 28-21 lead at halftime, but the Lady Devils burst out of the gate in the second half for an 18-3 spurt and 46-23 lead.
Toward the end of the third quarter, West Memphis Coach Sheila Burns subbed out three starters and Jacksonville (13-15) immediately jumped on the opportunity, forcing 12 Lady Devils’ turnovers in the next four minutes.
The Lady Titans scored the final nine points of the third quarter to make it 46-32 heading into the fourth quarter. Jacksonville kept the pressure going in the backcourt and eventually sliced West Memphis’ lead to 52-44.
“I got a little worried at that point,” Burns said. “I honestly thought with the substitution we made there at the end of the third quarter was late enough in the game that we could have rested some of our starters. But things went wrong pretty quick before we could even sub our starters back in.”
A free throw and a basket after a steal by senior Tatyana Burks and a layup by center Tierra Bradley righted the West Memphis ship for a 56-44 lead with 3:09 to play.
West Memphis never led by less than 10 the rest of the game.
The Lady Devils offset 20 turnovers by outrebounding Jacksonville 39-30.
Sophomore guard Aryah Hazley scored 20 points to lead the West Memphis offense, while Burks and Bradley each hit 10.
Jacksonville’s Shymaryia Christopher led all scorers with 26 points while teammate Deshundra Shockley pumped in 13.
Saturday’s results
6A-EAST BOYS
Jonesboro 81, Jacksonville 39 LR Hall 49, Mountain Home 48 Pine Bluff 73, Marion 67 West Memphis 86, Searcy 58
6A-WEST BOYS
Benton 60, Russellville 54, OT El Dorado 57, Greenwood 52 Lake Hamilton 65, Siloam Springs 29 Sheridan 76, Texarkana 65
6A-EAST GIRLS
Jonesboro 65, Searcy 28 Marion 58, LR Hall 51 Mountain Home 47, Pine Bluff 32 West Memphis 64, Jacksonville 53
6A-WEST GIRLS
Greenwood 68, Texarkana 32 Lake Hamilton 44, Benton 43 Russellville 47, El Dorado 41 Sheridan 55, Siloam Springs 42
Sports on 02/18/2018