PEARCY -- Ryu Unice and the El Dorado Wildcats started hot and never really cooled down Saturday afternoon.
Unice drilled 3 three-pointers in the first quarter and finished with a game-high 19 points in leading the Wildcats to an 84-42 victory over Pine Bluff in the Class 6A state tournament semifinals at Lake Hamilton's Wolf Arena.
El Dorado hit 33 of 55 field-goal attempts -- including 10 of 17 three-pointers -- in earning a trip to the championship game at the Hot Springs Convention Center.
Daniel Gafford, a 6-11 senior and University of Arkansas, Fayetteville signee, scored 16 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked 9 shots. Senior guard Czar Perry also scored 16 points.
"Ryu and I have had good chemistry since we were 6 years old," said Perry, who also had six assists. "And when we added Daniel in the eighth grade, it's been even better."
El Dorado hit its first five three-point attempts, four of which came from Unice.
"Ryu got hot tonight, and Czar being the unselfish player that he is, he just kept drawing defenders and kicking," El Dorado Coach Gary Simmons said. "They play together well. They're good kids and they love each other. When it came time to slow it down, they fed Daniel. There's not an unselfish bone in that dressing room."
Senior Caleb Parker, who led Pine Bluff with 16 points and 11 rebounds, tied the game at 2 with 6:33 left in the first quarter. El Dorado responded by scoring 22 of the next 23 points. The Wildcats led 24-3 at the end of the first quarter and 44-17 at the half.
"They came out ready to play," Pine Bluff Coach Billy Dixon said of El Dorado's start. "By halftime, I was hoping they would cool off, but they really didn't. We've never been beaten this bad before and I don't think we've played a team that's hit that many three-pointers on us."
While El Dorado blistered the nets, Pine Bluff got off to a less than stellar start. The Zebras hit only 1 of 14 field-goal attempts in the first quarter and finished 17 of 55. Pine Bluff was outrebounded 41-31.
"We never really had a chance to get into our game plan," Dixon said. "Did we plan? Of course we planned to make some things happen, but we never got into a rhythm and we never got into it. The momentum went totally in the other direction."
"We tend to have great first quarters, but not 5 of 5 from the three-point line," Simmons said. "We haven't been shooting it well from the three-point line lately. It was just an amazing start."
JONESBORO 56,
LITTLE ROCK HALL 47
Perfection from the free-throw line allowed the Hurricane to hold off the Warriors and remain unbeaten in Saturday's late game.
Jonesboro (31-0) hit all 20 of its free-throw attempts, with Jonathan Adams and Marquis Eaton going a combined 13 for 13 in the fourth quarter. The Hurricane finished Saturday's game by scoring 13 of the last 16 points, and 6-7 senior Salisu Yahaya collected 5 of his 11 rebounds in the final quarter.
"What a job by Salisu," Jonesboro Coach Wes Swift said. "He's been kinda soft for us. We're always on him, telling him 'You're too soft, you're too soft, you're too soft.' Tonight he grew up and we had to have him."
Hall scored 10 consecutive fourth-quarter points to tie the game at 43-43 with 2:45 remaining, but Jonesboro made it to the free-throw line enough times to quell Hall's upset bid.
Adams scored 11 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, including 7 of 7 from the line. Eaton also finished with 13 points, 6 of which came in the fourth quarter and all from the free-throw line.
"Jonesboro is a good, solid basketball team," Hall Coach Jon Coleman said. "They play hard, but I think we're just as good. I do think they do rebound well. I just think they got a couple of breaks that we didn't get. ... They don't need any help."
Antonio Smith led Hall with 16 points. Maurio Goggins, who had 34 in Friday's victory over Texarkana, was limited to eight points. Josh Nichols also scored eight points.
Jonesboro led 20-17 at the half and held a 30-19 edge early in the third quarter before Hall cut the advantage to 32-28 by the start of the fourth quarter. The Hurricane again built a 10-point lead in the final quarter before Nichols rallied the Warriors.
Sports on 03/05/2017