COVE -- Rivercrest Coach Johnny Fleming is interested in one thing this time of year.
It's all about survive and advance, which the Colts did Tuesday afternoon.
Marquez Chews scored 30 points and handed out 13 assists to lead Rivercrest to an 82-76 overtime victory over McGehee in the first round of the Class 3A boys basketball state tournament at Cossatot River High School.
"We really persevered in this one, especially there at the end," Fleming said. "We got down, fought back, got it to overtime, got down in overtime. The kids kept battling and battling, and that's all you can ask for them.
"We didn't play well at times, but at this point in the season we'll take a win any way it comes."
Robert Banks scored 12 points and Carl Williams added 10 for Rivercrest (23-7), which advances to take on the Lamar-Mayflower winner at 8:30 p.m. Thursday in the second round.
Taiwan Collins scored a team-high 21 points for McGehee (25-2), which had won 46 of its past 48 games and had reached the semifinals each of the past three seasons. Ryan Berry had 19 points and Kenneth Lewis scored 15.
The Owls forced 30 turnovers and held a 37-35 rebounding advantage but had a tough time containing Chew, particularly in the second half.
"We hadn't seen them play, but they did exactly what our scouting report said they'd do," McGehee Coach Jerome Pace said. "We thought we should have put them away when we had a chance, but teams like that, teams that have a very good guard like [Chew] that's capable of breaking you down, it's tough.
"You've got to be able to corral a guy like that. When we were able to, we had some success. When we didn't, he hurt us."
It took a while for Chew to get adjusted to McGehee's style of play. The Owls pressed routinely in the backcourt and trapped almost as soon as he touched the ball, resulting in a rash of first-half turnovers. But the senior guard began to settle in during the second quarter, and his play-making ability allowed the Colts to battle back from an early first-half hole.
Chew had 10 points and three assists in the third quarter alone to help the Colts turn a 39-37 deficit into a 55-48 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
McGehee used a 12-2 run to seemingly regain control, but Rivercrest responded with a 13-4 run and led 70-64 with 42 seconds left until back-to-back three-pointers by Collins tied the game at 70-70.
The Colts regained the lead on free throws by Chew and Aaron Hopewell, but the Owls tied it again, this time at 72-72, with seven seconds remaining. Chew got off a long three-pointer just before the horn, but his shot bounced off the back of the rim to send the game into overtime.
The Owls quickly grabbed a three-point lead in the extra period. Berry's eight-footer with 3:32 left gave McGehee a 75-72 advantage, but it didn't hit another field goal the rest of the way. Rivercrest took advantage and scored 10 of the game's final 11 points to pull away.
PRESCOTT 49, MANILA 39
Senior center Ricardo Roberts finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds to help Prescott (23-9) upset Manila, the top seed from Region 3.
Senior guard Kyle Munn and senior forward Khaalid Stewart had 10 points each for the Curley Wolves, who led 21-18 at halftime but used a 10-0 run at the start of the third quarter to coast into the second round. Prescott will play either Benton Harmony Grove or Two Rivers on Friday.
Junior guard Caleb Reinhart scored 15 points to lead Manila (19-11), which was outrebounded 33-25 and shot just 12 of 52 from the floor. Prescott finished 15 of 35 from the floor.
Sports on 03/04/2015