Greg Johnson has earned a solid reputation in the first two days of the Jammin' for Jackets Tournament.
Johnson, a 6-4 junior, scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds as Little Rock Hall pulled away from the Bryant Hornets late for a 64-53 victory in Friday's semifinals at George Cirks Arena.
A night after scoring 17 points in a first-round victory over Little Rock Fair, Johnson was again the Warriors' leading scorer, posting 10 of his points in the game's final 3:43.
"Up until this point, Gregory Johnson is not a household name," Hall Coach Jon Coleman said. "Gregory is an elite athlete. He has size. He has quickness. He can handle the basketball. He can score. It's just up to him to do the little things that's going to make him more than just an average basketball player."
Hall (6-1) never trailed after the game's first five minutes and jumped to a 28-17 halftime lead. Bryant (5-1) got as close as 39-37 with 9:29 remaining and were still within 56-53 at the 1:42 mark, but Johnson scored the game's final eight points. The tournament uses two halves of 16 minutes apiece.
"I was proud of our guys for fighting back that way," Bryant Coach Mike Abrahamson said. "(Hall) is a big, strong, physical, experienced team and they played that way. That's something we have not seen to that degree. That's going to be a good experience for us."
Bryant scored the game's first four points and led 9-8 with 10:44 remaining in the first half. But the Hornets hit only 5 of 23 first-half field-goal attempts.
Led by sophomore guard Khalen Robinson, who scored 12 of his team-high 19 points in the second half, Bryant got back into the contest.
"To his credit, [Robinson] wanted to lead us in that situation," Abrahamson said. "Not in a selfish way, but he felt he needed to step up and be a leader."
Coleman said Bryant's comeback was fueled by the 35-second shot clock used in this tournament.
"In my opinion, it's an adjustment to play with the shot clock," Coleman said. "If there was not a shot clock involved in this game, then when we go up like that, we have a whole series of offenses that we go to. But since there's a shot clock involved you really have to keep playing. That's not our philosophy."
Hall 6-7 junior Kevon Cooper scored eight of his 14 points in the game's seven minutes. Junior guard Jonathan Coleman added 12 points, including nine in a three-minute stretch of the second half.
Bryant junior Rodney Lambert added 13 points and freshman Hunter was good for 10 points. Senior Sam Chumley led the Hornets in rebounding with six.
Hall finished 23 of 46 from the floor while Bryant was 17 of 42. The Warriors outrebounded the Hornets 30-22.
Hall will play Mills, a 95-72 winner over Little Rock Parkview in Friday's late game, in the championship game at 5:30 tonight.
HALL (64)
Madison 1 0-0 2, Cooper 7 0-2 14, Coleman 3 3-3 12, Johnson 8 7-7 23, Smith 1 2-2 4, Dismuke 0 2-2 2, Peterson 3 1-2 7, Miller 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 15-20 64.
BRYANT (53)
Hunter 3 2-4 10, Robinson 6 5-7 19, Chumley 3 0-0 6, Lambert 3 7-8 13, Canada 1 0-0 3, Merriweather 0 0-0 0, Wallace 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 14-19 53.
Halftime -- Hall 28, Bryant 17. Three-points goals -- Hall 3 (Coleman 3); Bryant 5 (Hunter 2, Robinson 2, Canada). Team fouls -- Hall 16, Bryant 15.
LITTLE ROCK FAIR 68,
LITTLE ROCK McCLELLAN 63
Deavon Bankston scored 24 points and grabbed five rebounds as the War Eagles (5-1) held off a late rally by the Lions (1-5).
Fair led 34-19 at the half.
Mikalon Hawkins, who hit five three-pointers in the first half for Fair, finished with 19 points. Mickael Foust added 10 points while pulling down eight rebounds.
McClellan junior Ian Robinson scored 25 of his 31 points in the second half. Sean Cohns added nine points for McClellan. Jaylin Cunningham led the Lions in rebounding with eight.
LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL 73,
EPISCOPAL 62
Junior A.J. Williams led the Tigers (2-2) with 19 points, 6 assists and 3 steals in a consolation-round victory over the Wildcats.
Senior Jaylin Sasser added 13 points and five rebounds. Junior Rajhon McIntosh put in 12 points and junior Jakaylyn Jackson added 10 points.
Episcopal sophomore guard Taylor Payne scored 17 of his game-high 28 points in the first half. Sophomore Che Smith added 19 points.
Sports on 12/09/2017