Prep basketball report

Prep basketball report

5A-West Conference

Top teams collide

The stage is set for an early battle atop the conference standings in 5A-West boys' race, when Maumelle visits Morrilton on Friday.

Maumelle (11-4, 2-0) defeated Vilonia 76-61 on Tuesday. Morrilton enters fresh off a 73-62 victory at Clarksville. Both teams are tied with Harrison in the early conference race, but the Devil Dogs will look to use home court advantage Friday to remain atop the standings.

Morrilton is led by 6-foot-2 senior guard Marcel Swinton, who averages 14.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game. Senior Jacarius Stewart is also contributing 10.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game for the Devil Dogs (12-3, 2-0), including a 22-point effort in the conference opening win against Greenbrier.

Maumelle has been paced early this season by sophomore Tremont Robinson, who averages 15.9 points and 4.4 rebounds. The Hornets, who have nonconference wins against Pine Bluff, Bryant and Pulaski Academy, are also getting 10 points and 4.7 rebounds per game from senior Gary Burton.

Harrison (10-4, 2-0) hosts Little Rock Christian on Friday as the Goblins also look to remain unbeaten in the 5A-West Conference boys' race.

-- Vernon Tarver @NWAVernon

4A-1 Conference

Showdown in Berryville

Prairie Grove was supposed to be down this season after losing a talented group of seniors, including do-everything player Lacey Beeks.

Someone forgot to tell Coach Kevin Froud that. Prairie Grove (9-8, 5-0) battled through a brutal nonconference schedule and has won its first five conference games in typical Lady Tigers' style.

"We're just doing what we normally do, play defense, rebound and hit some shots," Froud said.

The Lady Tigers are tied atop the league standings with Berryville, and the two teams square off Friday at Berryville for first place nearing the halfway point of the conference season.

Froud expects Berryville (13-5, 5-0) to be another tough game for his squad.

"They are playing real well," he said. "The have a lot of great athletes. They did real well in volleyball and they have a lot of those same players."

Prairie Grove knocked off Gentry on Tuesday 57-46 as sophomore Parker Lopez scored 21 points, and Mattie and Taylor Hartin combined for 25.

Parker (5-foot-6) has made a quick transition from junior high to the varsity this season, Froud said.

"She has a knack for scoring the ball," he said. "She can drive it. She's really taken a lot of the pressure off the other girls to score."

-- Chip Souza @NWAChip

3A-1 West Conference

Tigers moving up

West Fork got itself back into the 3A-1 West Conference race with a big 51-48 win over league leader Lavaca on Tuesday night.

After the Tigers were blown out at home a week ago by Greenland, West Fork defeated Elkins on Friday and rallied past Lavaca to earn a share of the boys' conference lead.

West Fork, Lavaca and Haas Hall are now all tied atop the conference at 3-1. Tigers coach Cody Vaught said his team has bounced back strong after double-digit loss.

Cody Roebke, a 6-foot-4 junior, was a force inside on Tuesday for West Fork, putting up a double-double with 21 points and 16 rebounds. Ryan Roebke added 15 and Dalton Hays chipped in nine.

Lavaca led 30-29 at halftime, but West Fork took a 43-37 lead into the fourth quarter. But the Tigers struggled at the foul line, making just 9-of-24 for the game and 4-of-11 in the fourth quarter. But held on to win.

"We were up 10, then they started fouling with about four minutes to go and we just kept missing," Vaught said. "But we won it. It was tough to come back after we got beat like that. But they just went back to work and stayed positive."

The Tigers have another big game on Friday as they travel to Haas Hall, which beat Mansfield on Tuesday, in a battle of co-leaders. Vaught expects another tough game.

"It's our first road conference game since back in December," Vaught said. "We've had three straight at home. Haas Hall is a good team. It's their first year in the conference and people may not know a lot about them."

-- Paul Boyd • @NWAPaulB

2A-4 West Conference

'Dogs ready for clash

For the last two seasons Decatur and Eureka Springs have battled for the 2A-4 Conference bragging rights and nothing has changed this season. The two rivals will battle Friday night and both teams will enter the contest at Decatur with undefeated conference records.

Decatur (12-6, 5-0) defeated Mountainburg 45-32 Tuesday to stay spotless in the league while Eureka Springs (17-7, 6-0) defeated Hartford 75-42. Decatur defeated Eureka Springs 50-39 earlier this season at a tournament at Decatur.

"It's a real big game," said Decatur coach John Unger. "We kind of have started a rivalry with them over the last two years as we have competed with them for the championship. Our kids respect each other. We beat them the first week of December and their kids are wanting some revenge. Our kids our playing well."

Mario Urquidi is averaging 18 points a game for Decatur but the Bulldogs have also been balanced most of the year. Pheng Lee hit two 3-pointers and finished with 11 points against Mountainburg while Victor Urquidi has been a consistent scorer, averaging eight points a game.

Eureka Springs point guard Reggie Sanchez is averaging 19 points a game and the junior had 30 against Hartford Tuesday.

"It's going to be a good basketball game, and to be honest, we are the two best teams in the conference," said Eureka Springs coach Brian Rambo. "Very similar styles and very similar personnel."

-- Paul Nielsen @NWAPaul

Independents

Shittu puts on a show

Providence Academy sophomore SK Shittu had four impressive dunks and five emphatic blocks on Tuesday night.

All in all, those numbers indicate a fairly ordinary night for the 6-foot-9 forward. Except Tuesday he had it against a Tulsa, Okla.,-based S.O.Y.L.A. (Save Our Youth Leadership Academy) team with two college prospects who were 6-10 and 6-9.

Shittu finished with 17 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks to help lead Providence to the impressive 58-40 win over a team with three potential Division I players.

"It was like a college show," Providence coach Austin Bivens said. "(SK) threw three of them out on the big (6-10) boy. He was just amped up."

Shittu wasn't alone in his big performance, either.

Junior 6-5 forward Lucas Durasas scored a game-high 18 and matched up with S.O.Y.L.A.'s 6-9 forward. Senior guard Garrett Greenway knocked down all three of his 3-point attempts and scored a season-high 11.

"That was a big key because they were sandwiching in on SK and daring him to shoot," Bivens said. "And he did. He was the difference early in the game."

-- Jimmy Carter • @NWAJimmy

Sports on 01/15/2015