MAUMELLE -- A young Maumelle team played with poise down the stretch Friday night to knock off Little Rock Hall.
The Hornets overcame a dreadful third quarter and got timely baskets over the game's final minute to beat the Warriors 69-64.
"We're growing up and starting to figure things out a little," Maumelle Coach Michael Shook said. "We only have three seniors, and one's injured, so we don't have any experience other than what we've got this year. But the guys are starting to find their roles, and I thought they all played their part in this one.
"It took a total team effort to beat those guys, and that's exactly what we got."
Nine different players scored for Maumelle (8-6, 1-1 6A/5A-4), led by junior forward Brahm Harris' 24 points and seven rebounds. Junior guard Jabari Barnes finished with 13 points while sophomore guard Courtney Lawrence added 11 for the Hornets, who never trailed but had to stave off several comeback attempts by the Warriors.
Junior forward Greg Johnson had 25 points and nine rebounds for Hall (11-4, 0-2), which fought back from a 12-point, third-quarter deficit to get within two on separate occasions in the final two minutes. Junior guards Jared Smith and Montavious Dismuke scored 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Maumelle knocked down 16 of 22 shots in the first half and held a 45-37 lead at halftime behind Harris' 17 points. The Hornets held a 10-point lead in the second quarter and might have led by more if not for Dismuke and Smith, who scored all of their points in the opening half. At one point, Dismuke scored 10 consecutive points to help Hall stay within striking distance.
The Warriors, who were without starting center Kevon Cooper, were still down 50-38 after a Harris layup with 7:02 left in third quarter, but Hall forced eight turnovers over the next six minutes to pull within 54-49 on Johnson's dunk at the 3:02 mark.
The Warriors later trailed 64-62 with 1:01 left after Johnson's two free throws, but Barnes sank a short jumper to extend the lead back to four. Hall got within 66-64 on two more Johnson free throws with 20 seconds remaining and had a chance to take the lead on its next possession, but junior guard Jonathan Coleman's three-point attempt with 8.7 seconds hit the back of the rim. Barnes added two free throws and Harris tacked on one to put the game away.
"This is big, really big," Shook said. "There are no gimmes in this conference at all, so to get this one gives us some confidence going forward."
LITTLE ROCK HALL (64)
Madison 4 1-1 9, Loring 0 0-0 0, Smith 6 0-1 13, Johnson 8 9-14 25, Miller 0 0-0 0, Peterson 2 3-4 7, Dismuke 3 3-3 10, Coleman 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 16-23 64.
MAUMELLE (69)
Harris 9 3-7 24, Barnes 4 3-7 13, Mills 1 0-0 2, Wade 1 2-2 5, Porter 1 2-3 4, Robinson 1 1-3 3, Flowers 0 2-2 2, Lawrence 4 2-2 11, Bell 2 1-2 5. Totals 23 16-28 69.
Little Rock Hall (11-4) 19 18 12 15 -- 64
Maumelle (8-6) 25 20 9 15 -- 69
Three-point goals -- Hall 2 (Dismuke 1, Smith 1), Maumelle 7 (Harris 3, Barnes 2, Wade 1, Lawrence 1). Team fouls -- Hall 21, Maumelle 21. Fouled out -- Coleman, Smith.
Sports on 01/06/2018