A trio of scorers was enough for Pulaski Academy.
Fourteen points each from junior forward Griffin Newby and junior guard Kaylan Makan and 10 from senior guard E.J. Anderson helped carry Pulaski Academy to a 59-45 victory over Little Rock McClellan at Alex Hugg Gymnasium in Little Rock on Tuesday night.
"McClellan is always hard to play," Pulaski Academy Coach Roger Franks said. "I guess everyone says this, but in this league, any win is a great win."
McClellan returned from a significant first-half deficit but was repelled by Pulaski Academy's 20-point third-quarter outburst, led in part by three-point shots from Makan, who hit two on consecutive possessions to give the Bruins (7-3, 2-1 5A Central) a 46-36 lead at the end of three quarters.
"No one for PA overplays," McClellan Coach Christopher Threatt said. "They just do their job, like Makan. He was shooting well, but he wasn't asked to do anything but what he does well. He knocked his shots down, and I think that's the mark of a PA team."
"McClellan always competes really hard," Franks said. "It's one thing to have good athletes, but it's another thing to do a great job coaching them, and Coach Threatt does that with the people he has."
A layup by junior forward Darius Eason, Jr., and a free throw from sophomore forward Martini Robinson put the Crimson Lions (2-10, 1-2) within 46-39 with 6:54 left in the game, but they would get no closer.
Anderson's three-pointer gave Pulaski Academy a 59-43 lead with 3:11 left.
Pulaski Academy took advantage of a four-minute scoreless run by McClellan to take command in the first quarter.
McClellan led 5-4 after senior guard Patrick Martin's three-pointer, but Pulaski Academy scored the next 11 points and led 15-5 on Newby's layup with 57 seconds left in the first quarter.
"We were getting it inside to Newby", Franks said. "That was a big part of our start, but McClellan did a really good job in the second quarter of showing us some good looks on defense."
Senior guard Eric Woods' three-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer put McClellan within 17-9.
Woods led McClellan with 11 points. Eason and Robinson each scored nine.
McClellan chipped away at PA's advantage throughout the second quarter and took its second and final lead when junior guard Kendrick Ester's 12-foot jumper from the wing put the Crimson Lions up 23-22 with 1:14 in the second quarter.
"At that point, we were executing what our game plan was," Threatt said.
Layups by seniors Logan Miller and Merritt Jones in the final minute gave Pulaski Academy a 26-23 halftime lead.
"[PA is] a Coach Franks team," Threatt said. "What I mean by that is Coach Franks is always calm. The kids are well prepared, and they're always in the right place."
Sports on 01/08/2020