In the final game at The Galaxy, Grehlon Easter played out of this world.
Easter scored 10 of the game's first 11 points and finished with 31 in leading the top-ranked Mills Comets to an 81-60 victory over Pine Bluff in a 6A/5A-5 Conference game.
PINE BLUFF (60)
Higgins 6 2-3 17, Thorn 6 3-4 17, Thompson 3 8-9 15, Morris 3 0-0 6, Washington 2 -2 4, Snow 0 0-0 0, Justin 0 0-0 0, Reynolds 0 0-0 0, Martin 0 1-2 1. Totals 20 14-20 60.
MILLS (81)
Ford 1 0-0 2, Easter 7 17-18 31, Greene 6 0-0 17, Clark 1 0-0 2, K. Jones 6 0-0 13, McCrary 0 0-0 0, Virden 1 2-4 5, Peaster 3 1-1 7, Cross 2 0-0 4, T. Jones 0 0-0 0, Wright 0 0-0 0, Smith 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 20-23 81.
Pine Bluff (12-7); 9;20;18;13 — 60
Mills (21-2);31;20;23; 7 — 81
Three-point goals — Pine Bluff 6 (Higgins 3, Thorn 2, Thompson); Mills 7 (Greene 5, K. Jones, Virden). Team fouls — Pine Bluff 20, Mills 19.
Mills (21-2, 10-0) closed out its home season with a dominating performance. The Comets were 7 of 14 from three-point range, 27 of 56 from the floor and finished with a 38-17 advantage on the boards.
The Comets will play in a newer Galaxy next season.
Easter was clicking from the start, scoring the game's first points four seconds into the contest. Driving to the goal, Easter switched from his right hand to his left and put up a floating five-footer. He added 12 more points in the next five minutes and had compiled 23 by halftime.
"He gets these looks sometimes and when he gets those looks, we just let him go," Mills Coach Raymond Cooper said of Easter. "We just played him until he got tired."
Easter also grabbed six rebounds and two assists. The 6-4 senior guard was 17 of 18 from the free-throw line.
"I wasn't surprised because everything I did tonight are the things I've worked on plenty of times," Easter said. "The things I worked on just gave me plenty of confidence."
"Without a doubt, he's one of the best guards in the state," Pine Bluff Coach Billy Dixon said. "We had guys who were trying to get him. We had guys who were asking for him. He just came in locked and ready to play."
Pine Bluff (12-7, 6-3) trailed 51-29 at the half and was never any closer than 20 points in the final two quarters.
By the time Easter finally slowed down, his teammates were ready to take up the slack. Patrick Greene connected on 3 three-pointers in the final 1:39 of the first quarter as the Comets cruised to a 31-9 lead after the first eight minutes.
Greene finished with five three-pointers and 17 points. Senior post player Kaevon Jones added 13 points while pulling down a game-high 12 rebounds.
"The seniors were dialed in," Cooper said. "These guys have played a lot of ball together. We started all five seniors tonight and they were really amped up. I was proud of how well they played defensively. Midway through the second quarter (Pine Bluff) had only 13 points."
Junior Kaleb Higgins and senior Kendrick Thorn each scored 17 points to pace the Zebras. Jyrimee Thompson added 15 points.
PINE BLUFF (60)
Higgins 6 2-3 17, Thorn 6 3-4 17, Thompson 3 8-9 15, Morris 3 0-0 6, Washington 2 -2 4, Snow 0 0-0 0, Justin 0 0-0 0, Reynolds 0 0-0 0, Martin 0 1-2 1. Totals 20 14-20 60.
MILLS (81)
Ford 1 0-0 2, Easter 7 17-18 31, Greene 6 0-0 17, Clark 1 0-0 2, K. Jones 6 0-0 13, McCrary 0 0-0 0, Virden 1 2-4 5, Peaster 3 1-1 7, Cross 2 0-0 4, T. Jones 0 0-0 0, Wright 0 0-0 0, Smith 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 20-23 81.
Pine Bluff (12-7) 9 20 18 13 -- 60
Mills (21-2) 31 20 23 7 -- 81
Three-point goals -- Pine Bluff 6 (Higgins 3, Thorn 2, Thompson); Mills 7 (Greene 5, K. Jones, Virden). Team fouls -- Pine Bluff 20, Mills 19.
Sports on 02/10/2018