JACKSONVILLE 92, EL DORADO 71
WEST MEMPHIS -- Jacksonville and interim head coach Brandon Weems pulled out their full-court press at the right time Wednesday.
The Titans forced 8 El Dorado turnovers in the final eight minutes, leading to a 31-point fourth quarter in their 92-71 victory over the Wildcats in a Class 6A boys state tournament first-round game.
"Getting into our ... full-court press really helped us," said Jacksonville's H.D. Martin, who scored 15 points. "Coach told us to execute and hustle. I believe we wanted it more than [El Dorado] did in the second half."
Jacksonville (14-16) pulled out to a double-digit lead in the first half but saw El Dorado (12-15) rally to make it a 38-37 Titans' lead at halftime.
After building a 61-54 lead at the end of three quarters, it was all Titans in the final eight minutes. Jacksonville scored the first nine points and kept El Dorado scoreless from the field for more than half of the quarter.
Jacksonville connected on 12 of 18 shots from the floor in the fourth quarter and had 17 points off El Dorado turnovers.
"We got away from what we like to do on offense in the second quarter, but I thought the ball movement and the pace was to our liking in the second half," Weems said.
Sophomore Gerald Doakes led all scorers with 27 points, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter. Teammate Jordan Maxwell chipped in 11.
El Dorado's Jaterrio Ramey led his team with 25 points while B.J. Johnson had 16.
PINE BLUFF 54, TEXARKANA 43
Pine Bluff broke open a tight game with a 21-point fourth quarter led by Kaleb Higgins.
After Texarkana (16-12) battled for a 33-33 tie at the end of three quarters, Pine Bluff and Higgins took over. Higgins scored 8 of his team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter, sharing the point guard duties with teammate Kendrick Thorn.
"I thought Texarkana had a decent game plan for us," Pine Bluff Coach Billy Dixon said. "They mixed up their defense very well."
Pine Bluff's Harris Martin, a senior, gave the Zebras (17-10) a three-possession cushion when he weaved his way through the lane for a basket to make it 48-41 with just over a minute to play.
"We made the plays down the stretch," Dixon said. "That's probably what I'm happiest about."
Thorn added 13 points for Pine Bluff, which will face Benton tonight at 8 in a quarterfinal game. Martin fired in 11 for the Zebras.
The Razorbacks got a team-high 14 points from Fabian Phillips, while teammates DeJordan Mask and Ajon Gray added 8 apiece.
LITTLE ROCK HALL 60, GREENWOOD 48
Ke’von Cooper scored a game-high 19 points to lead Little Rock Hall (23-8) to victory. Hall bounced back from a 13-12 deficit in the first quarter to take a 22-19 lead at halftime, then coasted in the second half. Greg Johnson added 13 points for the Warriors while Xavier Madison chipped in 9. Greenwood (16-12) got 17 points apiece from Jordan Sheppard and Easton Barrett.
Sports on 03/01/2018