Jacksonville had all the momentum after Devonte Davis' steal and rim-rattling dunk gave the Titans a three-point lead with less than a minute to play in the third quarter of Tuesday's 5A-Central matchup with Little Rock Hall.
Davis' play brought the Jacksonville crowd to its feet, but not for long.
Hall outscored Jacksonville 10-2 during the next five minutes, taking advantage of a Titans' dunk-to-funk tailspin en route to a 53-48 victory.
"After a dunk, you usually ride the momentum at least two or three possessions," Jacksonville Coach Victor Joyner said. "There were a lot of jabs during that game, and the knockout punch didn't really come until the end of the game, and [when] the knockout came, we punched ourselves."
It didn't help Jacksonville (11-6, 4-2 5A-Central) that Davis, its top player, got shaken up on the dunk and had to leave the game for the final 50 seconds of the third quarter, when Hall got big baskets by Carlos Miller and Melvin Floyd to regain a lead it never again surrendered.
Hall Coach Jon Coleman said it was the play of the Warriors off the bench, Floyd, Miller, Jarrius Sharp and Cameron Dismuke, who entered the game when the starters couldn't solve Jacksonville's half-court trap in the first four minutes of the third quarter.
"I thought they were not making wise choices, so I thought they should come sit with me and let's watch and reflect and try to get it together and finish strong," Coleman said. "Our bench turned the game. They did exactly what we executed in practice. They played hard, and they left it all on the floor."
Hall (13-6, 6-1) had regained the lead by the time the regulars returned to the court, and the veteran players were able to hold on for the victory.
Kevon Cooper, the one Hall starter that did not depart in the third quarter, finished with 8 points and 8 rebounds.
Greg Johnson led Hall with 13 points and Johnathan Coleman had 11, including two free throws in the final minute.
Davis led Jacksonville with 17 points. Mykel Moore scored 10 for the Titans.
Sports on 01/30/2019