5A-CENTRAL BOYS

Jacksonville takes face-off of No. 3s

Tuesday night's 5A-Central matchup between rivals Jacksonville and Sylvan Hills turned into a memorable game of 3-on-3.

No. 3 vs. No. 3, that is.

Jacksonville senior guard Davonte Davis and Sylvan Hills guard Nick Smith, who both wear No. 3, put on a show in the Bears' tiny gym at Sylvan Hills High School.

They combined for 53 points, with Davis -- a University of Arkansas signee -- finishing with 24, including 12 of his team's 13 overtime points in a 69-63 victory.

Smith, his sophomore rival, scored 24 of his 29 in the second half to bring the Bears back from a 15-point deficit with a mix of three-point baskets and three-point plays to force overtime.

Jacksonville (15-4, 11-0) led 29-19 at halftime and 40-25 with 3:10 left in the third quarter before Smith led the Bears back into the game.

"Sylvan Hills had a sophomore going against a senior," Sylvan Hills Coach Kevin Davis said. "He went toe to toe with him."

Jacksonville Coach Victor Joyner agreed.

"Not only is he a player, he's a gamer," Joyner said of Smith. "He knew they needed a punch, and he provided it to them. That's what your players got to do, and that's what both of them did."

Smith scored 15 points in the third period to get the Bears to within 45-38 heading into the fourth quarter, and he gave the Bears a 56-55 lead with two free throws with 26 seconds to play.

But Davis was fouled driving to the basket with 2.7 seconds. He made the first free throw to tie the game, but he missed the second to send the game into overtime.

Joyner said he was relieved to reach overtime after watching Smith exert so much energy in the Bears' rally.

"Nick just made some ... shots," Joyner said. "We had everybody on him. But one thing about it, Nick got tired. The last three minutes of overtime he was gassed. He had to fight for the ball. He was just gassed. He wasn't going to make anything.

"Our strategy was to keep running bodies at him and he'd eventually run out of gas. Luckily for us, that tank finally got on empty with about three minutes left. Thank goodness."

Davis, held to six points through three quarters, scored 18 points in the game's final 13 minutes.

"Tonight, you got to see two dandies," Kevin Davis said. "Oh yeah. That's what the game turned out to be. Those kids have put in the work, and they earned the accolades."

Davis received plenty of help from his teammates, as did Smith.

Christian Moore scored 14 of his 20 points in the first half, including 4 of his 6 three-pointers for the Titans.

Corey Washington scored 12 for Sylvan Hills, and Deshaun Fowlkes chipped in with nine.

Sylvan Hills (17-6, 8-3) has lost two in a row. The Bears are three games behind Jacksonville and one game behind Maumelle in the race for the top seeds.

GIRLS

JACKSONVILLE 52,

SYLVAN HILLS 45

Jacksonville scored the first 13 points of the fourth quarter to overcome a six-point deficit and defeat Sylvan Hills.

Jacksonville (15-8, 10-1 5A-Central) got 13 points from Alexis Rowe and 12 from Da'Kariya Jackson to take over first place from Sylvan Hills (18-6, 9-2).

Jayla Morris led Sylvan Hills with 20 points, and Daniya Cartwright scored 11. Brooklyn Roland had 10 for Jacksonville.

Sports on 02/19/2020

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