Episcopal Collegiate flexed its muscles on defense and used a relentless attack on offense to blow past Jessieville 65-42 in the semifinals of the 3A-5 Tournament.
Mahlon Martin scored a game-high 18 points to lead Episcopal (21-3), which won its 19th consecutive game en route to beating Jessieville for the third time this season. William Pollock scored 13 points and Allie Freeman had 12 for the Wildcats while Kelvin Robinson finished with 10.
Hunter Daley led Jessieville (13-13) with 11 points. Ruben Dehaas had nine points while Devin McClard chipped in with eight.
“Defensively, I thought we played very well,” Episcopal Coach Micah Marsh said. “Even at the half, I told the guys that we gave up a little more than what we wanted. So they turned it up a notch in the second half, and we were able to get the win.”
Episcopal, the top-ranked team in Class 3A, will face Mayflower tonight in the tournament championship game at 7:30 p.m.
The Wildcats essentially booked their trip to the final with a flurry late in the first quarter.
Jessieville went the first five minutes of the game without a turnover and led 7-6 after Johnny Jordan’s putback with 4:24 left in the quarter. But Martin’s three-point play, following a steal, started a string of five consecutive steals for the Wildcats. Episcopal scored 11 points off those Jessieville turnovers and took a 17-12 lead into the second quarter.
The Lions got within 19-16 with 6:03 to play in the half, but Episcopal outscored Jessieville 18-3, sparked by back-to-back three-pointers by Pollock to take complete control.
Episcopal continued to apply pressure on Jessieville, which committed 22 turnovers, in the second half and led by as many as 31 points. Martin’s free throw with 5:17 left in the game invoked the Arkansas Activities Association’s sportsmanship rule. At that point, the Lions had missed 14 consecutive shots before McClard’s 18-footer with 1:15 remaining broke the drought.
“Any win at this point in the season is a big win,” Marsh said. “We’ve just got to keep it up, especially in thisnext one.”
Sports, Pages 24 on 02/21/2014