Little Rock Hall had four players score 12 points apiece Friday night in the Warriors' 74-61 victory over Sylvan Hills at Cirks Arena.
Sophomore guard Jarron Harriott hit a three-pointer to give Sylvan Hills a 38-37 lead with 4:50 left in the third quarter, but Hall responded with its second big run of the game to pull away in a rush. Three-pointers by junior guards Jared Smith and Kevin Dismuke gave Hall (14-4, 2-3 6A/5A-4) a 50-38 lead less than three minutes after Sylvan Hills took its final lead.
"We wanted to try to press them a little bit and try to get some easy baskets," Hall Coach Jon Coleman said. "We were able to do that at some points during the game."
Sylvan Hills (6-13, 0-5) was within 50-45 after freshman forward Jalen Ricks' layup completed a run, but Hall scored the next eight points and led 60-45 after senior forward Xzavier Madison's dunk with five minutes left in the game.
Sylvan Hills was never closer than nine points the remainder of the way.
"I've been keeping up with Sylvan Hills," Coleman said. "I've watched a couple of films, and they never quit on a basketball game. I give credit to them. They hung in there, and I think when they got that lead, that got our attention, and we started playing a little harder."
Smith, junior center Kevon Cooper, junior guard Greg Johnson, and senior guard Michael Peterson all scored 12 points to lead the Warriors.
Five Sylvan Hills players scored with Ricks' 19 leading the way. Freshman guard Caleb Campbell had 18, Harriott scored 12, and sophomore guard Jordan Rainey finished with 10.
Four Sylvan Hills turnovers and two missed shots led to a 12-0 Hall run that turned a one-point advantage into a 21-8 lead late in the first quarter.
"We were fortunate that we were able to cash in on the back end of turnovers," Coleman said.
"We're very young, ninth and 10th graders mainly, so our youth showed a little bit right there," Sylvan Hills Coach Kevin Davis said.
A rebound layup by Smith gave Hall a 29-17 lead with 3:14 left in the second quarter, but Sylvan Hills began to chip away.
Harriott's three-point play cut Hall's lead to 31-25 with 1:20 left in the second quarter.
"I liked our composure, that we didn't go away," Davis said. "We kept coming back to battle, and this team needs to do that. For a little bit, this was a pretty tight ballgame."
Harriott made a 13-foot jumper with eight seconds left to put Sylvan Hills within 31-27 at halftime.
Davis said Harriott has moved into a starting role through hard work.
"He's earned his spot," Davis said. "Coach didn't put him there. He earned it."
Sports on 01/20/2018