North Pulaski scratched and clawed for the majority of the game, but Little Rock McClellan took over in the fourth quarter on the way to a 60-49 victory Tuesday night in Jacksonville.
Sophomore Andre Jones led the Lions (15-11, 9-5 5A-Central) with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists, and junior Keith Hayes added 16 points and 5 assists.
The Lions weren’t able to control until a dunk by Jones with 3:55 left in the third quarter gave them a 45-37 lead and seemed to energize McClellan on both ends of the court.
“Nothing about our game tonight impressed me,” McClellan Coach Chris Threatt said. “I’m happy that we got the win, because anytime you can get a win it’s a great thing. But I didn’t think we had good energy, and I think if we don’t correct that with the seven days that we have to get ready for the state tournament we’re going to be leaving early.”
Senior Frederick Thomas led the Falcons (10-14, 3-10) with 20 points and seven rebounds and played a significant role in keeping North Pulaski in the game in the first half by knocking down shots when it seemed the Lions were prepared to make a run.
“I think [North Pulaski Coach] Roy Jackson does a good job with his team, and his kids play hard,” Threatt said. “They’ve lost some really close games that they could’ve won, and you expect their seniors to be playing hard since we’re coming to the end of the season. So I expected the energy that they had. They played well.”
Sports, Pages 23 on 02/26/2014