Little Rock Hall boys Coach Jon Coleman said he wasn't feeling too good before his Warriors turned a tight 5A-Central opener into a 58-28 runaway victory over Watson Chapel at Cirks Arena on Tuesday night.
Jonathan Coleman, the coach's son, did his best to make his dad feel better.
Coleman, a senior point guard, tied the game at 19-19 with a three-pointer with 2:27 to play in the first half, and he was only getting warmed up.
Coleman, shifting from point guard to the No. 2 spot after halftime with Hall leading 23-19, rattled in his first three-pointer of the second half, banked in his second, then swished in three more in succession as Hall (8-5, 1-0) stunned Watson Chapel with a 27-0 run to take a 43-19 lead with 3:08 to play in the third quarter.
It was 53-21 after three quarters, with Hall outscoring Watson Chapel 30-2 in the period.
Coleman said he tried to keep his father's advice in mind.
"I was trying to make sure ... to take open shots," Coleman said.
Coleman's only third-quarter miss came on an open shot, albeit one that came on an attempt that was closer to midcourt than the three-point line.
Coleman said there was no way to foresee Hall's 30-2 third-quarter demolition, at least not to the extent it happened.
"But we knew we had to pick up the intensity," said Coleman, who led the Warriors with 18 points, all on three-pointers.
Watson Chapel Coach Marcus Adams said he tried to warn his team at halftime that the Wildcats (5-9, 0-1) hadn't seen the best of the Warriors.
"I just told them ... Hall is coming, and you've got to be ready for it," Adams said.
Coleman's hot shooting, supplemented by strong inside play from Greg Johnson (15 points) and Kevon Cooper (7 points, 7 rebounds), overshadowed a strong effort from Watson Chapel junior Jordan Tillman, who scored 24 of his team's points and was the only Wildcat to make a basket.
Sports on 01/09/2019