PINE BLUFF -- Long Beach Poly (Calif.) saved its best for last Saturday at the King Cotton Holiday Classic.
The Jackrabbits jumped on Jacksonville from the tip and didn't let up until the outcome was no longer in doubt in their 81-69 victory in the championship game Saturday in front of a crowd of more than 3,100 at the Pine Bluff Convention Center.
Senior guard Justin Rene scored a game-high 30 points and earned Most Valuable Player honors for Long Beach Poly (10-3), which had close encounters with Landry Walker (49-48) and The Park School of Buffalo (70-61) in its first two rounds before burying Jacksonville early.
The Jackrabbits hit 10 of their 20 shots and held a 23-point lead after the first eight minutes of play. Long Beach Poly didn't allow the Titans to get any closer than the final 12-point margin.
"We came a long way to get this one," Long Beach Poly Coach Shelton Diggs said. "That fast start was huge. That was so important for us. When you play in any type of championship game, you want to come out and set the tone early. We shot it well, and we got the crowd behind us.
"We've got a key saying that when you play on the road, you make their fans our fans. So that gave us some momentum, and we were able to sustain it."
Senior forward Giordan Williams had 13 points and senior guard Malik Salahuddin had 10 for the Jackrabbits, who shot 47.7 percent (31 of 65) for the game.
Junior guard Devonte Davis had 22 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists and senior forward Joe Phillips added 16 points and 4 rebounds for the Titans, who shot 27 of 60 (45 percent) overall but couldn't overcome their tumultuous opening.
Jacksonville (7-4) missed its first five shots, was outrebounded 14-3 and turned the ball over three times all within the game's first three minutes. The Titans were also 0 of 6 from the free-throw line during the first quarter. By the time Davis scored on a driving lay-up with 2:55 left for the team's first field goal, Jacksonville had put itself in an 18-2 trench.
"When you shoot like that at the jump, it's hard to come back," Jacksonville Coach Victor Joyner said. "When you spot them 18 points, it's gonna be an uphill climb from that point on. That's a very good, senior-laden ballclub.
"They showed poised and patience throughout. They made great decisions all game, put the ball in the right places. ... we just had a hard time overcoming that. I'm proud of the way my guys fought back and I thought we represented the state well, but that bad start killed us."
The Jackrabbits hit 5 three-pointers during their 18-0 opening run and countered Davis' basket by scoring the final 7 points of the quarter to hold a 25-2 lead.
Jacksonville was better in the second quarter, but the Titans never completely slowed Long Beach Poly. The Titans were able to clog the middle to negate baskets inside and ran the Jackrabbits' shooters off the three-point line with hard close outs. The problem for Jacksonville, though, was that Long Beach Poly was patient when it needed to be and made extra passes until it got open shots.
"We play fast, but we work it around until we get the kind of shot we're looking for," Diggs said. "That was something we talked about. They like to get up and down, but so do we. The key is that we can't start taking bad shots.
"Once you do that, you allow teams to get back in it. We did a good job of not letting them get back in it."
The Jackrabbits led 47-26 at halftime and push their lead to as much as 31 in the third quarter before letting their foot off the gas in the final 8 minutes.
"We were just so thankful for getting the chance to come here and play in this type of atmosphere," Diggs said. "It was a well-run event. The community got behind us, and I'm glad we were able to play well in front of them."
THE PARK SCHOOL (N.Y.) 65, GULLIVER PREP (FLA.) 60
The Park School nearly blew a 16-point, second-half lead but did enough to slide past Gulliver Prep and take third-place honors.
Senior center Ebuka Nnagbo scored 23 points and pulled down 14 rebounds for the Pioneers, who led 30-14 in the third quarter but were clinging to a one-point lead (61-60) with 19 seconds remaining after a furious spurt by Gulliver Prep. But Nnagbo came up with a huge offensive rebound following a missed free throw, then found senior guard Noah Hutchins for a lay-up with 15 seconds left to put the Park School up 63-60.
Gulliver Prep had a chance to tie it on the following trip, but junior guard Tony Sanders was just short on a three-point attempt with five seconds remaining. Sophomore guard Caleb Hutchins hit two free throws moments later to set the final score.
Noah Hutchins had 17 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists while Caleb Hutchins ended with 15 points and 6 rebounds for the Park School (6-1), which outrebounded Gulliver Prep 42-22.
Sanders had 25 points for Gulliver Prep (9-6). Sophomore guard Frankie Idlett scored 17 points while junior guard Gabe Taylor added 16.
SAM HOUSTON (TEXAS) 67, PINE BLUFF 55
Points in the paint were the difference for Sam Houston, as it downed Pine Bluff.
The much-bigger Tigers scored 44 of their 67 points within 6 feet of the basket, with forward Kevin Baker doing most of the damage. The senior finished with 24 points and 7 rebounds for Sam Houston (15-5). Senior guard Chris Green added 12 points and eight assists. As a team, the Tigers assisted on 20 of their 29 field goals.
Senior guard Kaleb Higgins finished with 29 points for Pine Bluff (2-8). The Zebras were 18 of 38 but 16 turnovers doomed their chances to pick up their first victory of the tournament. Senior forward Darius Morris had 10 points and five rebounds.
Pine Bluff was down by as many as 16 in the second quarter. A 10-1 run that spanned a little more than two minutes and was capped by a short floater from junior guard Garrick Baines put Sam Houston up 33-17. The Zebras closed out the half on a 10-2 spurt, with senior guard Charles Harris burying a three-pointer in the final seconds, to cut their hole to 35-27.
Two free throws from Morris got Pine Bluff as close as 53-47 with 5:47 remaining in the game, but Sam Houston continued to feast in the interior to keep the Zebras from making a final push.
LANDRY WALKER (LA.) 63, COLUMBUS (MISS.) 36
Senior guard Solomon Doucette scored 15 points as Landry Walker sprinted out to a 16-4 lead and coasted past Columbus.
Shadon Green, another senior guard, added 10 points for the Buccaneers (11-5), who led 29-17 at halftime but separated themselves in the second half to earn the mercy-ruled victory. Landry Walker was 26 of 50 and knocked down nine three-pointers, with Doucette and senior guard Torey Cargo connecting on three each.
Senior guard Fred Sparks had 9 points to lead Columbus (5-10), who ended the game with 15 turnovers and missed 27 of their 41 shots. The Falcons were also outrebounded 32-22.
Sports on 12/30/2018