Paris boys in driver’s seat after road wins
Back-to-back road wins at Liberty-Eylau and Pleasant Grove has put Paris’ boys basketball team in the district driver’s seat.
It was close most of the game, but the Wildcats pulled away in the fourth quarter Friday night at Pleasant Grove to hand the Hawks their first district setback, 54-42.
Pleasant Grove (12-12, 1-1) struggled to penetrate the Wildcats’ zone defense, most of its offense coming from senior Kamren Woods. The 6-2 Woods scored a game-high 17 points, including three treys.
Despite a height advantage, the Wildcats dominated the glass behind the outstanding play of junior Trevon Dennis. Jameon Mitchell led Paris (21-7, 3-0) in scoring with 14 points.
“I don’t know if it puts us in the driver’s seat, it probably puts a target on our back,” Paris coach Billy Steed said. “Pleasant Grove is good, but I thought my kids played well, especially there at the end of the game.
“Pleasant Grove is huge, they’ve got lots of size. Dennis played a great game for us inside. I’m really happy with the way we competed. We had to play hard to beat those guys.”
The Hawks scored the game’s first four points, but trailed 14-8 going into the second quarter. Pleasant Grove was nursing a 22-21 lead at intermission, but the second half belonged to the Wildcats.
A spectacular dunk by Woods in the final minutes rallied the Hawks within four points. However, Paris made its free throws in the final seconds to build the final cushion.
Lady Hawks survive Paris’ late rally
Pleasant Grove’s girls watched an 11-point lead in the final seconds of the third quarter disappear on a conventional three-point play by Peaches Jackson with 6:29 left in the game.
Paris was running on empty at that point, allowing the Lady Hawks (22-3, 4-0) to go on a 7-0 run of their own to recapture the momentum.
It was a physical game on both sides. The Paris coach pulled one of his players after a verbal confrontation, and then the officials removed a player from each team seconds later. Jackson led the Lady Wildcats’ offense with 14 points.
Shanequa Henry paced Pleasant Grove’s attack with 22 points, while Asia Lloyd contributed 16.
Texas High splits with Wildcats
SULPHUR SPRINGS, Texas – Texas High’s boys slipped to second place in the district standings Friday night after a 53-52 loss to front-running Sulphur Springs (19-8, 3-0).
The Tigers (21-7, 2-1) started the game cold, trailing 23-8 at the first break. Sulphur Springs led 37-19 at halftime, only to see Texas High climb back into contention in the third quarter by outscoring the Wildcats, 21-7.
Senior Keaston Willis led the winners with 17 points. Kyle Wright had 14 points for the Tigers, while C.J. Kelly adding 12.
Kerrighan Dunn poured in 18 points, while Antonia Porter tallied 15 with four treys in the Lady Tigers’ 60-48 win over Sulphur Springs.
The game was tied at the end of the first quarter, but THS pulled away with a 23-point explosion in the second period for a 37-21 lead at halftime. THS is 20-6 on the season and 5-0 in district.
Texas High plays at Greenville next Tuesday.
Arkansas High boys get first league win
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Arkansas High’s boys converted 16 of 18 free throws in the fourth quarter to survive a Lakeside rally and earn their first conference win, 58-52
Cameron Dorn swished 16 points for the Razorbacks, while Johnathan Blair contributed 15.
The Lady Backs didn’t match that performance, losing to Lakeside, 68-41. Chloe Porter led the winners with 26 points. Jayla Easter and Cedrianna Daniels paced AHS with 9 points each. Jamyia Montgomery and Kiara Young scored 8 points each.
Arkansas High will host Lake Hamilton next Tuesday.
Blevins slips past Trinity Christian
BLEVINS, Ark. – Trinity Christian was within striking distance most of the game, but the Warriors ended up losing a heart-breaker to Blevins, 55-53.
Jakob Martin led the Warriors with 21 points, while Zack Franklin contributed 15.
The Lady Warriors’ junior high team beat Blevins, 31-30. Lani Lindsey and Landi Williamson scored 11 points each for Trinity Christian.
Atlanta boys win, girls tumble
ATLANTA, Texas – New Boston outscored Atlanta’s girls 43-14 in the middle quarters Friday night en route to a 72-51 victory.
The loss spoiled another spectacular performance by Keyona Easter, who finished with 33 points, 10 steals, 5 assists and 8 rebounds. Sheveonia Smith added 12 points and 8 steals for the Lady Rabbs.
Junior Chloe Davis led New Boston’s attack with 20 points. Tamiya Smith and Grace Duffer scored 11 points each. The Lady Lions improved to 12-9 overall and 7-0 in district.
Atlanta’s boys got balanced scoring in routing the Lions, 77-34.
Daimion Collins led the Rabbs with 23 points. Charlie Powell had 14, Keyshawn Easter 12, and Hunter Allen 11. Jamin Powell scored 14 for New Boston.
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