PEARCY -- Airion Simmons was determined that Wednesday would not be his last high school game.
Simmons, a 6-8 senior who has signed with Abilene Christian, hit 3 three-pointers in the second half, collected 3 of his 4 rebounds, and blocked 2 shots in the fourth quarter to finish with 14 points as Little Rock Parkview held off pesky Greenbrier 58-52 in the Class 5A boys state tournament at Wolf Arena.
Simmons also made a diving save of a ball headed out of bounds that left Parkview Coach Al Flanigan impressed.
"That was a great play on his part," Flanigan said. "We got the ball back. He threw it. We got it. Hey, we beat them to a hustle play."
"Coach always wants us to go after those," Simmons said of the chase down of the loose ball. "This could have been my last game. I didn't want to end tonight."
The Patriots (18-9) have a 24-hour reprieve. Parkview plays top-ranked Marion in tonight's quarterfinals. Greenbrier finishes at 21-7.
Wednesday's game was a battle of three-pointers: Parkview hit 10, Greenbrier eight.
Simmons hit his final three-pointer with 6:40 remaining to break a 38-38 tie. It also started a string of 10 consecutive Parkview points. Greenbrier was never closer than four points the rest of the way.
Junior Kobe Dunlap and senior Juwaun Clifton combined to hit seven three-pointers to lead Greenbrier's charge.
"I thought we played right with them," Greenbrier Coach Mike Simmons said. "That Simmons kid, he just kept hitting tough shot after tough shot. They kept us at arm's length to where we had to be a little less patient on the offensive end. But they made the tough plays in the fourth quarter."
Auburn signee Allen Flanigan led Parkview with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Sophomore Keylon Harris added 10 points, and junior Keighland Young finished with 8 points, hitting 5 of 6 free throws in the final 45.6 seconds.
Clifton led Greenbrier with 16 points, while Dunlap scored 14. Senior A.J. Matthews grabbed 10 rebounds for the Panthers.
MAUMELLE 64,
RUSSELLVILLE 43
Brahm Harris scored 12 of his 22 points in the first quarter as the Hornets (16-12) upset the 5A-West champion Cyclones (20-7).
"We've definitely caught some breaks at this point," said Maumelle Coach Michael Shook, whose team needed to end the regular season with two wins and have Jacksonville lose its final two games to make the tournament. "But this time of the year, you have to catch some breaks."
Harris hit 3 three-pointers in the first half and had 17 points by halftime.
"He got things rolling for us," Shook said of Harris. "He got our confidence up."
Russellville played without 6-4 junior post player Ryne Sitkowski.
Maumelle led 24-14 after the first quarter and 36-20 at the half.
Sophomore Josh Denton knocked down 3 three-pointers and finished with 17 points for Maumelle.
Sophomore Trey Allen led Russellville with 21 points.
PINE BLUFF 51, VILONIA 48
Senior guard Kaleb Higgins hit a step-back three-pointer with 59.5 seconds remaining to give the Zebras (15-10) the lead for good, then hit 4 of 5 free-throw attempts in the final 24.4 seconds to help Pine Bluff preserve a victory over the Eagles (17-12).
Vilonia trailed for most of the second half but took a 45-44 lead when senior Trey Kelly hit two free throws.
Higgins, who finished with a game-high 21 points, was at the top of the key when he took a step back and took a 21-footer.
Austin Koonce scored 10 of his team-high 13 points in the second half for Vilonia.
CLASS 1A BOYS AT BROCKWELL
Mount Vernon-Enola 61, Kirby 59
BROCKWELL -- The Warhawks (23-13) blew an 11-point second-half lead but rallied back in the final seconds to escape with the victory.
Mount Vernon-Enola's Wesley Booker scored the game-winner with 42 seconds left for a 60-59 lead. Booker finished with 27 points to lead Mount Vernon-Enola.
Cameron Gaither led Kirby (32-8) with 30 points.
Dermott 65, Bradford 52
Xavier Hall led Dermott (33-5) with 16 points in its victory over Bradford (19-16). Dwalyn Jones and Michael Brown each added 11.
Payton Dunn led Bradford with 18 points, while Jacob Grady netted 14 and Mason Brinkley added 11.
Concord 59, Bradley 50
The Pirates (25-13) overcame a 15-9 deficit after one quarter, led 24-23 then held off the Bears (29-11) in the fourth quarter.
Bryar Cousins led Concord with 27 points, while Rodney Brock scored 15.
— Scott McDonald
Sports on 02/28/2019