Baptist Prep followed Issac McBride to a 63-37 victory over Episcopal Collegiate at Wildcat Arena in Little Rock on Friday night.
McBride, a 6-1 senior guard and University of Kansas signee, scored 21 points and sparked runs that turned into a Baptist Prep blowout between two teams whose gyms are both decorated with multiple state-championship banners.
Baptist Prep (18-3, 8-0 3A-5) will try for its fourth consecutive state championship in March. Episcopal Collegiate (8-13, 5-3) has won its share, too, but with McBride and his supporting cast of long-range shooters, the current edge is with Baptist Prep.
"[McBride] does a great job," Baptist Prep Coach Steve Miller said. "He's such a great leader and such a great teammate."
"There's a reason why he's signed with an upper-level Division I like Kansas," Episcopal Collegiate Coach Brandon Friedel said. "He plays extremely hard, and he's worked so hard to get where he is. He's a tough matchup for sure."
Episcopal Collegiate played on even terms through much of the first quarter. The Wildcats led 6-4 in the first few minutes, and tied the score at 10-10 on a layup by senior Xander Larracuente with 1:03 left.
A late first-quarter three-pointer by senior forward Manly Roberts started an eight-point run for Baptist Prep completed by McBride's three-pointer that gave the Eagles an 18-12 lead with 6:35 left in the second quarter.
Episcopal Collegiate was within 18-16 after layups by senior Graham Gordon and junior Chris Smith, but Baptist Prep scored on six of its next eight possessions to lead 30-17 at halftime.
The Eagles kept their run intact through the first five minutes of the third quarter and led 42-28 after a jump shot from McBride with 3:05 left.
"Our defense really turned into our offense in the second half," McBride said. "For a team that can shoot the ball as well as we can, if we can defend, we're a dangerous team to mess with."
Sports on 01/19/2019