NATURAL STATE HOOPFEST
JONESBORO 67,
LR PARKVIEW 64
JONESBORO -- The Jonesboro Hurricane did what had it had to in order to pick up a victory on its home floor, but that didn't mean Coach Wes Swift was satisfied with it.
Junior guard Keylin McBride notched 16 of his team-high 21 points in the second half, as Jonesboro slipped past long-time nemesis Little Rock Parkview 67-64 during the Natural State Hoopfest on Friday night at Don Riggs Gymnasium.
Sophomore guard Jesse Washington added 17 points and 10 rebounds for Jonesboro (7-4), which won for the fourth time in its past five games after losing three of the previous four. Junior guard Brodie Williams tossed in four three-pointers and ended with 12 points for a young Hurricane group that Swift said is still trying to find its way.
"There are going to be times where we go, 'man, that was a really good play by a sophomore,' " said the Jonesboro head coach. "But then we're going to have times where we're like, 'man, that was a sophomore play.' I think we saw that from both teams [Friday].
"Maybe the home floor was a little bit to our advantage, but we're just happy to pull out the win."
Senior forward Ryan Gordon had 22 points and 11 rebounds for Parkview, which dropped its fourth game in row but played without standout Cameron Wallace. The sophomore is expected to be out for an extended period after suffering a hand injury in the Patriots' final game at the King Cotton Classic. Junior guard Keylon Harris tallied 15 points.
Jonesboro forced Parkview into a corner quickly by scoring the game's first nine points. The Patriots, though, regrouped and later tied the game at 19-19 after Gordon sank two foul shots with 4:44 left in the second quarter. The Hurricane reclaimed the advantage on a Washington put-back basket on the next trip and was ahead 30-28 until scoring eight of the final 10 points of the quarter to hold a 38-30 lead by halftime.
Jonesboro got an added bonus when Parkview Coach Scotty Thurman was whistled for a technical foul for arguing with an official as the teams headed to the locker room at the break.
"I'm never one to complain about officials, but I just feel like we don't get the benefit of the doubt a lot of times," Thurman said. "We're going to be the more aggressive team most nights, but for some reason, things don't go our way. What's obvious is obvious, though.
"I don't go around getting technical fouls, but I'm going to fight for my team."
McBride knocked down the resulting free throws to put Jonesboro ahead 40-30, but Parkview responded. The Patriots ripped off on a 14-3 run and took its first lead of the game, 44-43, on a free throw from junior guard Christian Winkler with 1:06 remaining in the quarter. Jonesboro scored on consecutive field goals to finish out the third, then used an 8-1 flurry later in the fourth quarter to build a 60-49 cushion only to see Parkview claw back.
Free throws from senior guard Keighland Young ignited a 13-2 run that tied the game at 62-62. Washington's three-point play with 2:14 to go allowed Jonesboro to regain control, and the Hurricane were able to survive from there.
NORTH LITTLE ROCK 80, BLYTHEVILLE 78 (OT)
Freshman guard Bryson Warren scored 12 of his team-high 22 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to propel North Little Rock (8-3).
Senior guard Spencer Simes had 18 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore center Kelel Ware finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds and 8 blocks for the Charging Wildcats, who led 31-21 at the half but needed a three-pointer from senior guard Otis Jordan with 21 seconds left in regulation to send the game into the extra period.
Senior forward Deveon Smith ended with a game-high 26 points for Blytheville (13-3), which used a 10-3 run late in the fourth quarter to take a 66-60 lead. The Chickasaws led 69-63 with 2:12 left in regulation and 71-68 with less than 30 seconds to go before Jordan's pull-up jumper tied it at 71-71. Senior guard Tedrick Washington had a chance to win it for Blytheville, but his off-balanced three-pointer skated off the side of the rim as the buzzer sounded. North Little Rock scored seven of the first 10 points of overtime to pull away.
Washington had 19 points and Lamont Jackson, a junior guard, added 15 points for Blytheville.
Sports on 01/04/2020