Hall uses fast start to pop Saint Louis

JONESBORO -- As one of two Arkansas schools playing against out-of-state opposition in the Natural State Hoopfest, Little Rock Hall felt an extra sense of pride after Saturday's victory.

The Warriors held Saint Louis University in check for most of the game and defeated the Junior Bills 55-42 at Don Riggs Hurricane Gymnasium.

At a glance

NATURAL STATE HOOPFEST

Jonesboro High School

Saturday’s boys results

Pulaski Academy 58, Buffalo Island 53

Pine Bluff 44, East Poinsett County 43

Memphis Arlington 53, Marked Tree 50

Gosnell 80, Hot Springs 69

LR Hall 55, Saint Louis University 42

Jonesboro 67, Little Rock Parkview 47

"Our guys get really excited about getting to play different opponents," Hall Coach Jon Coleman said. "Coming off the Jammin' For Jackets in which we see our common opponents in Little Rock, it's really refreshing to see an opponent that you wouldn't see the rest of the year."

The Warriors (5-3) took control early with a 12-1 run en route to a 14-6 advantage after the first quarter. The lead grew to 25-10 after a 7-0 run as they took a 28-16 halftime lead.

Hall played tight to start the third quarter as Saint Louis opened on a 7-0 run to trim the deficit to 28-23. The Junior Bills (5-3) cut it to five, 35-30, with 1:27 left, but the Warriors scored five consecutive points bridging the third and fourth quarters to open a 40-30 advantage.

"We saw a little tape on them, and we wanted to try to slow them down because we thought their guards were really good," Coleman said. "The zone helped slow the pace of the game down, but they started to quicken the pace there in the third. But then we were able to control the tempo again."

Saint Louis cut it to eight twice before the Warriors put the game away with a 12-4 run to make it 54-40 with 1:23 left in the game. Maurio Goggins, who scored a game-high 15 points, helped the Warriors with 4 fourth-quarter assists.

"We always have an experienced guard, and as they go, we go" Coleman said. "And so as Maurio Goggins goes, so Hall goes right now."

Issac Beal added 9 points and 4 blocked shots for the Warriors. Brandon McKissic led the Junior Bills with 11 points, while B.J. Wilson added 9.

Pulaski Academy 58, Buffalo Island Central 53

Tra Johnson tipped off Saturday's tournament play with a game-high 29 points -- including 16 in the fourth quarter -- 11 rebounds and 5 steals, helping Pulaski Academy rally past Buffalo Island Central.

The Bruins didn't attempt a free throw in the first half but made up for it by hitting 12 of 13 over the final two quarters. Johnson made 10 of 11 free throws.

Connor Parr finished with 13 points for Pulaski Academy.

The Mustangs led most of the game, mostly by hitting 10 of 21 three-pointers. They led 32-26 at halftime after hitting 7 of 11 three-pointers, including their first five attempts.

Andrew McFarlin led Buffalo Island Central with 12 points, while Trey DePriest added 11 points and Canon Walling 10.

Pine Bluff 44,

East Poinsett County 43

Brandon Little's lone basket of the game was a driving layup with three seconds left, lifting short-handed Pine Bluff over East Poinsett County.

DeQuan Morris led the Zebras, playing without three of their normal starters, with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Delvonte Dilworth added 12 points and 3 steals before fouling out on Xzavier Reed's three-point play that gave the Warriors a 43-42 lead with 18 seconds left.

Reed finished with a game-high 16 points and a team-high eight rebounds. J'Sebian Brown added 11 points.

Gosnell 80, Hot Springs 69

Gosnell shot 34 of 60 (56.7 percent) to cruise past Hot Springs.

Marquel McKinney led the Pirates with 20 points and 5 assists, including a dunk with 5 seconds left to punctuate a strong afternoon. Trajan Donnerson added 18 points and Tramaine Anderson had 17 for Gosnell, which led 44-24 at halftime and 60-40 after three quarters.

Hot Springs cut it to seven twice in the final quarter by forcing eight turnovers.

Paris Harris led the Trojans (4-8) with a game-high 21 points. Trayvun Gordon added 15 points and 8 assists, and Exavian Christon scored 11.

Memphis Arlington 53, Marked Tree 50

Luke Wiseman scored eight of his team-high 14 points during a fourth quarter that saw Memphis Arlington shoot 8 of 9 from the field to put away pesky Marked Tree.

Brogan Brewer and Ray Price added 10 points each for the Tigers.

Colby Malone led the Indians with 20 points, with Nick Andrews chipping in 10. Marked Tree by shot just 48 percent (12 of 25) at the free-throw line.

Sports on 12/18/2016

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