Jonesboro Coach Wes Swift said the fourth quarter of Friday night's 64-49 victory over North Little Rock was "easily our team's best quarter of the season."
The Hurricane (12-4, 3-0) hit 8 of 12 shots from the floor in the quarter, turning a one-point deficit into a 15-point victory.
"It wasn't a 15-point game," Swift said. "If we would have made a run in the first or second quarter, I think it would have been close at the end. We just made our run at the very end of the game. We were very happy to see the scoreboard hit 0:00."
Until the final eight minutes, the game was a nip-and-tuck affair that saw the lead change hands 13 times. North Little Rock (11-4, 2-1) led after each of the first three breaks. But Jonesboro scored the first four points of the fourth quarter, and then gave up an offensive putback before starting scoring the next six points.
Senior Marquise Pointer led the Hurricane with 23 points, but Swift pointed to other factors that led to Jonesboro's eventual victory. Jayvon Landon, a 6-8 junior who finished with 12 points, tipped in two shots in the fourth quarter that kept North Little Rock from starting fast breaks. The Hurricane also enjoyed a 28-21 advantage on the boards.
"The kept them off the glass and out of the paint," Swift said.
Jonesboro finished hitting 24 of 50 shots from the floor; North Little Rock was 16 for 46.
KeVaughn Allen led North Little Rock with 18 points while Adrian Moore added 14 and K.J. Hill nine.
Jonesboro must now prepare for a trip to West Memphis.
"How we come down off a high is going to be up to me," Swift said. "West Memphis is a rival game for us."
BENTONVILLE
Monk scores 50; Tigers fall
Bentonville junior guard Malik Monk scored 50 points but the Tigers suffered an 86-73 loss to Chino Hills, Calif., in Saturday's fifth-place game of the Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions at Missouri State in Springfield, Mo.
Monk was 17 of 28 from the floor, including a 8 of 13 effort from three-point range. He was also 8 of 10 on free throws and added eight rebounds.
Liangelo Ball led Chino Hills with 41 points. Ball was 14 of 31 from the floor and 8 of 20 from three-point range.
Bentonville is now 9-5.
GREENBRIER
Huge road victory
Greenbrier spoiled a grand opening Friday when the Lady Panthers handed Farmington a 50-47 loss in the Cardinals' new arena when the home team could not get a last-second three-point shot to fall.
"I think it was more of a distraction for them than it was us," Greenbrier Coach Toby McCammon said. "For the road team, it's just another road game. You just go play. We just happened to be the first opponent in their new arena."
Junior guard Kory Westerman led Greenbrier (13-3, 3-0) with 23 points.
"Obviously we played really well," McCammon said. "We did a good job of executing. It was probably as good as job as we've done all year. ... [Westerman] got us off to a good start and I don't care where you are, you've got to hit shots and it really helps if you can hit shots early in the game."
Senior forward Kenzie Batterton added 10 points for the Lady Panthers while senior guard Brooklyn Freeling added eight. Senior Tahlon Hopkins led Farmington (12-3, 2-1) with 14 points while sophomore Tayton Hopkins added 10.
Greenbrier will play at Faulkner County-rival Vilonia (13-3, 3-0) for the 5A-West Conference lead Tuesday.
"Hopefully our momentum will carry over, but if not, it's not the worst thing that could happen," McCammon said. "It's early and we all have a lot of basketball left to play. In this league, you can't get too high or too low. You're better off if you can stay on an even keel."
Greenbrier defeated Vilonia earlier in the season at Greenbrier's tournament.
"Vilonia is an excellent team and they're going to be super tough at their place," McCammon said. "It's not a long drive but it's a big trip."
OZARK
Ready to host
Ozark will host the Class 4A state tournament in March, and while the Lady Hillbillies are off to a 17-3 start, they realize there are no automatic bids when it comes to qualifying for the event.
"We're excited we got the tournament because we really wanted to host it," said Olivia Melton, a 5-10 senior who scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds in Friday's 68-52 victory at Pulaski Robinson. "But we can't let that be the only thing we're thinking about. We have to concentrate on each game. We have to get there first."
"You can look at it a lot of different ways, but I think our kids are excited to be able to play at home," Ozark Coach Bret Nagel said. "The first thing we've got to do is get there. ... We haven't discussed a whole lot because we want to take it one game at a time."
Ozark looked solid during the first half of Friday's game, building a 35-17 lead at the half, but the Lady Hillbillies allowed the Lady Senators to draw within five points during the final quarter. Ozark was 15 of 23 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to help complete the victory.
LAST-SECOND SHOTS
Huntsville boys Coach Jim Stafford earned his 1,000th senior boys victory last month in the Eagles' victory over Paris in a tournament at Ozark. Stafford has 1,003 victories heading into Tuesday's home game against Berryville. ... Monticello (12-0, 3-0) defeated Crossett 61-29 on Friday, giving the Billies 32 consecutive 4A-8 Conference victories. D.J. Franklin led Monticello with 17 points while Tae Clary added 12. ... The eStem Lady Mets, last season's Class 3A state champions, are heating up in their first year in 4A. Gia Hayes scored 25 points in eStem's 55-46 victory over Lonoke on Friday night. It was the Lady Mets' fifth consecutive victory. ... Pangburn, which will host the Class 2A state tournament in March, picked up a 66-59 victory over Midland on Friday. Ty Galyan led the Tigers with 21 points while Austin Beede and Jake Tharp added 19 and 13 points, respectively. ... Fountain Lake (9-8 , 4-2) handed Arkadelphia its first 4A-7 Conference loss on Friday, defeating the Badgers, 49-38. Tate McKellar led the Cobas with 27 points.
Sports on 01/18/2015