Willie Chapple scored 23 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in Little Rock Christian’s 59-56 victory at Maumelle on Tuesday night.
It was a breakout game for the Warriors’ 6-2 senior forward.
“He’s one we’ve been working on with his free-throw shooting and finishing around the basket,” Little Rock Christian Coach Clarence Finley said. “He was overdue to have a game like that.”
Nine of Chapple’s rebounds came on the offensive end.
“He’s a monster,” Maumelle assistant coach Trey Hightower said. “He was determined that every rebound was going to be his. We didn’t do a very good job of blocking out, but even if we would have boxed out, there’s a lot of them he would have gotten anyway. He’s just a superior athlete.”
Hightower was filling in for Hornets head Coach Michael Shook, who has been battling pneumonia since the team returned from the Neosho (Mo.) Classic.
Neither coach was happy with their team’s rebounding, even though Little Rock Christian enjoyed a 51-34 advantage on the boards. Little Rock Christian overcame a 34-28 halftime deficit and held as much as a 55-45 lead in the fourth quarter before Maumelle made a late push.
Maumelle grabbed six offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter.
“We gave them too many second chances,” said Finley, whose team won its fourth in a row to improve to 10-3. “That’s how they stayed in the game.”
Maumelle had two chances to tie in the final 14.6 seconds, but a turnover ended the first opportunity. Little Rock Christian’s Mykal Moore missed two free throws with 6.2 seconds remaining, but an attempt to secure the rebound turned into a mad scramble for the ball. Neither team had possession as the clock expired.
MAUMELLE
Barnes scores 24
Maumelle junior Jabari Barnes scored 20 of his 24 points in the first half of the 59-56 loss to Little Rock Christian.
“We lean on him so much,” Maumelle assistant coach Trey Hightower said. “I didn’t want to take him off the court tonight, but I needed to give him some spurts to rest. Like any true warrior, like he is every time I ask him if he needs a breather, he says ‘no coach, I’m good. Leave me in.’ ”
Barnes, a 5-9 guard, scored 10 of his points in the final 4:40 of the first half, including a last-second putback that gave the Hornets a 34-28 halftime lead.
“He has the ability to get to the goal, but he takes some hits,” Hightower said. “But those hits pile up and they take their toll.”
LITTLE ROCK FAIR
Foust’s steals spark rally
Michael Foust scored only seven points in Little Rock Fair’s game with Jacksonville on Tuesday night, but the senior guard’s second-half play carried the War Eagles to a 53-39 victory.
Jacksonville led 26-18 with five minutes left in the third quarter, but back-to-back steals by Foust led to free throws and a layup by senior forward Deaveon Bankston.
Foust rebounded a Jacksonville miss and converted the fast-break layup to tie the score at 26-26 with 2:13 left in the third quarter.
“He’s the catalyst for our team,” Fair Coach Charlie Johnson said. “When he’s going, we’re going, but we need him to be a little more productive.”
Fair (11-1) outscored Jacksonville 20-9 in the fourth.
Kameron Stafford led Fair with 19 points, while Bankston finished with 15.
Fair’s winning streak now stands at seven.
“I don’t think we’re where we need to be, but we’re working on it,” Johnson said. “All we can do is get better.”
PARKVIEW/HALL
Technical difficulties
Things got a little chippy during Little Rock Parkview’s 59-38 victory over rival Little Rock Hall on Tuesday. Seven technical fouls were called and one player was ejected for leaving the bench during a brief scuffle on the floor.
“It’s Hall and Parkview. … You never know what’s going to happen,” Parkview Coach Al Flanigan said. “It’s a big rivalry, but it’s all in fun. It was a good way to start 2018 off, though.”
Senior guard C.J. White had 14 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals to power the Patriots, while senior center Ethan Henderson finished 14 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks.
The Warriors had 16 turnovers, shot just 33 percent (16 of 48) from the floor and was outrebounded 34-24 in losing to the Patriots for the ninth time in their past 10 meetings.
Leading 17-16 early in the second quarter, Parkview scored the next 15 points to put the game away. The Patriots’ lead grew to as many as 27 midway through the third quarter.
“We threw a change-up on defense early and got after them from the start,” Flanigan said. “We didn’t shoot it as well, but we played their butts off on defense.”
Junior forward Greg Johnson led Hall with 20 points.
“We don’t want this one loss to turn into a string of losses,” Hall Coach Jon Coleman said. “We’ve got to go ahead and put this one behind us. We’ll go back, regroup and get ready for the next one.”
Parkview (9-4) plays at Pulaski Academy tonight, while Hall (11-3) plays at Maumelle.
MILLS
The waiting game
Mills earned its 10th consecutive victory Tuesday night, but the Comets had to endure a patient effort by the Sheridan Yellowjackets.
“Sheridan must have made 40 passes in its first two possessions,” Mills Coach Raymond Cooper said. “They can cause a lot of problems when they play like that.”
Kevin Cross led the Comets (11-2) with 23 points, and Mills wound up forcing seven turnovers in the game’s first six minutes.
“We didn’t want to get down early here, because I have been there and it is a tough, hard road, but we were able to open up a lead so we were focused on our defense and not making turnovers,” Cooper said. “I thought our guys came out prepared and played with a lot of effort.”
Mills led 14-9 after the first quarter and 37-17 at the half.
Grehlon Easter added 13 for Mills. Tyler Cleveland and Tyler Cacciatori each scored 13 for Sheridan.
PULASKI ACADEMY
A quick change
Sylvan Hills scored 22 points during the first quarter of Tuesday’s game at Pulaski Academy. The Bears managed only 21 combined points the remaining three quarters.
A change of defenses from a zone to a man-to-man made all the difference in a 60-43 Pulaski Academy victory.
“We knew they were going to get their points because they are very good shooters” said Pulaski Academy Coach Roger Franks, whose team trailed 22-8 after one quarter. “Changing the defense was obviously the right thing to do.”
Tra Johnson scored 10 of his 16 points the second quarter to lead Pulaski Academy (6-2). Zach Fischer had 11 for the Bruins, while Isiah Woods added 10.
Demetrius Torrence scored 14 of his 23 points in the first quarter for Sylvan Hills (6-8).