LITTLE ROCK — At times in the game between Sylvan Hills and Little Rock Mills on Friday night, the intensity in the stands matched the intensity on the court.
Several incidents, both on the court and in the crowd, caused delays in a physical game, one that the Bears won 59-53 in front of a standing-room only crowd at The Galaxy.
The Comets (11-5, 4-1 5A Southeast Conference) came out and controlled the tempo early on, scoring the games' first 7 points and containing Bears' guard Archie Goodwin. The run didn't last long, however, with Sylvan Hills (13-5, 5-0) ending the first quarter on a 16-5 run to take a 16-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The physical nature of the game put both teams at the free throw line, frequently. The Bears hit 10-of-14 from the stripe in the first half, the Comets hit 7-of-10.
The physical nature also caused some extracurricular activities. With 45 seconds left in the first quarter, a verbal exchange between Goodwin and Mills' guard Ben Clark escalated with Sylvan Hills forward Drew Pearson got tangled up with Clark. All three were separated, at which point several fans walked onto the court. The fans were escorted out of the gym and order was restored.
Neither team was able to get a run going after Mills' initial surge, with Sylvan Hills largest lead of the game coming at the 1:16 mark of the third quarter at 41-29.
A second incident, this one with 2:35 left in the third quarter, occurred only in the stands, at which point officials announced that any further trouble would result in the referees shutting down the game. The game went incident free after the final scuffle.
The Comets came back late in the fourth quarter, getting within 55-53 with 22 seconds left on a steal by Shyheim Barron and score by Shaquan Fletcher. Goodwin would hit two free throws a few seconds later to seal the win. Goodwin finished with 29 points.
Read more about this game in tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.