Little Rock Hall had a challenge Saturday against Mountain Home, but Greg Johnson provided relief when the Warriors needed it the most.
The junior forward scored 19 of his game-high 27 points in the second half as the Warriors beat the Bombers 49-48 in the opening round of the 6A-East Conference tournament at Cirks Arena.
No other player scored more than five points for Hall (22-6), which clinched a berth in the Class 6A state tournament. Johnson delivered by scoring 21 of the team's final 29 points, including 11 in the third quarter.
"We got a big game from Greg, but it's all about surviving and advancing right now," Hall Coach Jon Coleman said. "I knew it'd be a tough basketball game. You can tell Mountain Home scouted us well, and they were quite comfortable with coming down and playing us.
"Once our guys figured out that it was going to be tough, they settled down and played hard. But give Mountain Home credit because they played a good game."
The Bombers had alternated wins and losses in their past six games but played confidently throughout against the Warriors. Mountain Home (12-15) ended the opening quarter on an 11-0 run, with center David Wehmeyer scoring six in a row, to open up a nine-point cushion.
"We came out and played well early," Mountain Home Coach Josh Fulcher said. "We kinda took Hall out of the half-court stuff that they wanted to do, which allowed us to get a lead. They won some of the one-on-one battles, but for the most part, we played well."
Wehmeyer, a 6-9 senior, scored inside at the start of the second quarter to give the Bombers a 15-4 lead, but a three-point play from senior forward Xzavier Madison started a 14-2 run for the Warriors. Hall eventually led 22-21 at halftime, but the Warriors never were able to pull away.
Mountain Home trailed 44-37 with less than two minutes remaining but got within 47-45 with 13 seconds showing after a three-pointer from junior guard Luke Jackson.
Johnson hit two free throws with 10 ticks left to give Hall a 49-45 lead before junior guard Talyn Benton drilled a 24-footer with four seconds left to cut the Bombers' deficit to one. Mountain Home didn't have any timeouts left, and Hall was able to run out the clock.
Wehmeyer finished with 11 points and 7 rebounds for the Bombers, who shot 16 of 30 (53 percent) for the game but committed 24 turnovers, including 15 combined over the second and third quarters. Junior guard Colton Peters added 10 points.
Hall, which will travel to Jonesboro on Tuesday night for a semifinal matchup, finished 14 of 33 (42 percent) from the field.
MOUNTAIN HOME (48)
Benton 3 0-0 9, Peters 2 6-6 10, Kruse 1 4-4 6, Dietsche 4 0-1 9, Wehmeyer 5 1-1 11, Beshears 0 0-0 0, Jackson 1 0-0 3, Crecelius 0 0-0 0, Dibble 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 11-12 48.
LR HALL (49)
Madison 1 1-3 3, Cooper 2 1-1 5, Smith 1 2-4 4, Johnson 7 13-15 27, Peterson 1 2-2 4, Dismuke 1 0-0 2, Coleman 1 2-2 4, Session 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 21-27 49.
Mtn. Home (12-15);13;8;11;16;-;48
LR Hall (22-6);4;18;13;14;-;49
Three-point goals -- Mountain Home 5 (Benton 3, Dietsche, Jackson), LR Hall 0. Team fouls -- Mountain Home 20, LR Hall 15. Fouled out -- Cooper.
Sports on 02/18/2018