The Rotary Club of Russellville will attempt to conquer hunger this holiday season with a little basketball.
The Holiday Hoops for Hunger tournament will be played at recently completed Cyclone Arena in Russellville, and proceeds from the event will benefit two Pope County charities -- The Manna House and the River Valley Food for Kids.
Russellville Athletic Director Johnny Johnson, who helped start the Jammin' for Jackets Tournament for the Little Rock School District almost two decades ago, is one of the driving forces behind the Hoops for Hunger tournament, which he hopes will become an annual event.
"This is a chance for us to give back to a community which has given so much to us," Johnson said. "We wanted to do something that would benefit the community and to benefit the organizations who are working to help end hunger."
The tournament, featuring both boys and girls teams, will begin Dec. 28. The championship games will be Dec. 30. The Russellville Rotary Club is the tournament's main sponsor.
Cyclone Arena can seat 2,350 fans. Johnson said the $12.5 million project took 17 months to complete and that Russellville school officials toured six high school arenas in Arkansas before coming up with a plan for their own design.
"I think it's a combination between Cabot's and Conway's [arenas]," Johnson said. "The first question that always comes up when you build a new arena is: What would you have done differently? Everybody would tell us the good things and what they might do different. We tried to incorporate that with what we came up with."
Adding the Hoops for Hunger tournament makes Russellville a rarity. It is one of the few schools to host two basketball invitationals during the same month. The school also hosts the Cyclone Classic, a boys tournament that has been a continuous event for 30 years.
"I think we'll continue both," Johnson said. "One of the things we've told the coaches is that we'll let them decide if we will keep it a boy-girl tournament or make it an all-girls tournament. At Little Rock, we had the Rapa Roundball Rally to go along with the Jammin' for Jackets. The big thing, I think, is that we need to get more local schools involved. I think that will help with attendance."
PINE BLUFF
Rematch with Jonesboro
Pine Bluff pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the 2015 season in March when it won the Class 6A state title after entering the state tournament as a No. 6 seed. The Zebras defeated top-seeded Jonesboro in the championship game.
Jonesboro and Pine Bluff are scheduled for a rematch at Baptist Prep on Saturday.
Pine Bluff Coach Clarence Finley is looking for improvement.
"We've played well in spurts," Finley said. "We've had a hard time trying to contain the dribble, and we're not playing the press like we should, but I shouldn't complain too much. We're 6-1 and we're figuring out ways to win."
Pine Bluff suffered its only loss to crosstown rival Watson Chapel, 63-56, on Dec. 8, but it rebounded with a 79-33 victory over Camden Fairview.
Jonesboro (5-0) is coming off a 68-56 victory over Memphis Southwind on Saturday.
SYLVAN HILLS
Good starts propel Bears
Junior JaCobe Davis scored a combined 44 points during last weekend's Cyclone Classic to earn MVP honors and help Sylvan Hills defeat Russellville, 68-58, in the championship game.
"We were getting the ball in his hands, and he was able to finish strong," Sylvan Hills Coach Kevin Davis said of the 6-1 guard, who had a season-high 23 points in the title game. "He missed his first free throw of the fourth quarter, but he hit his next nine."
While the junior guard finished with a flourish, Coach Davis said the Bears' quick starts in all three tournament games produced the desired results.
After one quarter, Sylvan Hills led Subiaco 16-9, Greenwood 16-5 and Russellville 17-5.
"I think that was key for us," said Coach Davis, whose team improved to 6-2. "When you jump out like we did, you can control the tempo. We wanted to place an emphasis on playing a lot of kids, and we had 10 of them log quite a bit of minutes. I thought that really helped us catch our legs."
Senior Cordy Winston scored a combined 38 points in the three tournament games, and sophomore Alex Curry averaged 10 points a game.
"For a sophomore, I thought Alex was very steady and didn't lose his head when the game got heated," Coach Davis said. "When you get late into the game, you've got to have kids who can take care of the ball. I thought Alex really answered the call."
The Bears are at home tonight against Watson Chapel (3-1), which is coming off a home loss to Bryant.
CONWAY
Tolefree more than scorer
Conway's Alexis Tolefree notched another 20-point game Thursday night, scoring 24 points in a 79-38 home victory over Fort Smith Southside, but biggest smile from the guard came after back-to-back assists in the final 30 seconds of the first half.
"It's not all about scoring," Tolefree said. "Scoring comes naturally to me, but a good assist to one of my teammates makes me feel even better. We've got something to prove, and I'm just wanting to help us prove it."
Tolefree entered Thursday's game averaging 28.5 points a game. In her previous outing, she had scored 48 against North Little Rock in the finals of the Dandra Thomas Invitational.
Conway Coach Ashley Nance said Tolefree gets an unfair reputation for being a such a high scorer.
"A lot of people, to be completely honest, give Alexis a bad rap about being selfish," Nance said. "But if you know her and the person she is, and you've watched her play, she's really a good passer. She looks for her teammates. Of course, her teammates do an excellent job of saying, 'Hey, this is our scorer.' She will probably tell you if it wasn't for her teammates, she wouldn't be getting the points she has."
Conway (10-0) held a 33-9 lead after the first quarter and 55-18 at the half. Tolefree had 11 points after one quarter and 16 points at the half. She did not play after the first 2½ minutes of the second half.
Savannah Lowe added 13 for Conway. Loren Hernandez led Southside with nine points.
BENTON
3 ACLs in a month
Benton's Lady Panthers have lost three guards to torn anterior cruciate ligament injuries in the first month of the season.
Tia Brazell, a 5-7 senior, suffered her injury before the start of the season. Skylar Davis, a 5-5 senior, and Anna Davis, a 5-5 sophomore, were injured early in the season. A fourth starter quit last week.
"I've coached 11 years and never had one ACL injury," Benton Coach Jerry Chumley said after Thursday's 36-29 loss to Vilonia in the opening day of play at Greenbrier's Battle at the Brier. "And now I've had three in a month. It's just a bad-luck kind of year."
Chumley said Skylar Davis is undergoing rehab, is being fitted for a brace and will attempt to play later in the season. Brazell, who Chumley says will attempt to play on the college level, will not be back for the Lady Panthers.
"We're having trouble scoring," said Chumley, whose team is 1-6. "We had 10 points at halftime tonight, and that's been the norm for us. We have been in the 30s every game except two. With those four out, I've got 35 points sitting on the bench, with braces and crutches.
"We're playing hard, and I love them in practice, on bus rides and restaurants. We're having a great time because they are a great bunch of kids, but offensively, we have no firepower."
Senior Abby Clay led the Lady Panthers with 13 points in Thursday's loss. Benton trailed by as many as 16 in the second half, but got as close as 35-29 with 1:07 left on a three-pointer by sophomore Kinsey Bryant, who scored all seven of her points in the second half.
Vilonia's Sydney Wader led her team with 11 points.
Sports on 12/18/2015