Jacksonville nearly let a huge second-half lead slip away Tuesday night against Little Rock Parkview, but standout guard Davonte Davis made sure the Titans stayed a step ahead.
The senior either scored or assisted on Jacksonville's final 11 points, with his three-point play at the 1:42 mark of the fourth quarter effectively sealing the Titans' 75-65 victory at Ripley Arena.
Davis, a University of Arkansas signee, finished with 25 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists and 6 steals to collect his third consecutive triple-double. Sophomore guard Christian Moore scored 24 points and junior forward T.J. Stewart added 12 for Jacksonville (7-4, 3-0 5A-Central), which used a huge third quarter to turn a 34-31 halftime lead into a 62-43 advantage with eight minutes left in the game.
The Patriots charged back and made things interesting late, much to the annoyance of Jacksonville Coach Victor Joyner.
"Just the decision-making is what's killing us," he said. "We're just not a real poised team. We've lost games in the last few minutes because of the way we played in this one late. Slow down, run your stuff and just trust it, that's all we have to do.
"But we get in such a hurry and make careless mistakes that end up costing us."
The Titans survived those miscues in the fourth quarter thanks to the huge cushion they built in the third.
Jacksonville led 39-35 with 5:23 remaining in the third, then surged with an 11-1 run. Davis scored five points during that span, then scored six points during a quarter-closing 8-0 run to give the Titans their 19-point lead.
"The 1-3-1 defense we threw at [Parkview] had them shaken for a little while," Joyner said. "It took them almost the whole quarter to adjust to it. They weren't able to knock down shots, and we went on that 28-12 run to get us that lead.
"But we just didn't stay under control in that last quarter, and it showed."
Parkview stormed back by scoring 18 of the first 24 points of the fourth quarter, several of which came off of steals. A 3-footer from senior forward Ryan Gordon got the Patriots as close as 70-63 with 1:58 left, but Davis' steal and conversion shortly thereafter extended the Titans' lead to 10. Parkview would get no closer.
Gordon had 17 points while senior guard Keighland Young tallied 13 for Parkview (6-9, 1-2). Forwards Darius Miller, a sophomore, and Jared Presley, a senior, each had 12 points.
GIRLS
JACKSONVILLE 70,LITTLE ROCK PARKVIEW 57
The Lady Titans hit 11 of their 14 shots in the second half to stage a come-from-behind victory on the road.
Sophomore forward Da'kariya Jackson had 24 points, 9 rebounds, 8 steals and 7 assists for Jacksonville (8-7, 3-0 5A-Central), which beat Parkview by 28 points earlier in the season but needed a second-half push to win Tuesday. Alexis Rowe and Brooklyn Roland, both sophomores, had 13 and 12 points, respectively, for the Lady Titans.
Senior guard Jordyn Williams finished with 18 points for Parkview (3-6, 1-2), which led 30-29 at the half but went just 2-of-14 shooting in the third quarter. Freshman center Tyra Robinson had 13 points and 13 rebounds while freshman guard Jasmine Davis had 13 points and 5 steals.
Sports on 01/22/2020