Centennial (Calif.) wore down the NSU University School Sharks on its way to winning the 2019 King Cotton Holiday Classic championship Monday at the Pine Bluff Convention Center.
The Huskies’ late surge was pivotal in their 64-53 victory.
As for the in-state teams on the final day of the tournament, Bryant and Pine Bluff earned victories. Meanwhile, Jacksonville, Little Rock Parkview, and Pine Bluff Dollarway lost.
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Centennial’s Spurt, NSU Turnovers Define the Final Quarter
The Centennial Huskies (13-2) trailed NSU University School, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for most of the evening.
But Centennial was able to hang around and finally, with the game still up for grabs, took its play to a level that the Sharks were unable to reach.
At the start of the fourth, NSU led 44-38.
But for a couple of reasons, things would soon fall apart for the Sharks.
First off, Centennial stepped up defensively locking up NSU and forcing the team to constantly turn the ball over in the fourth. Additionally, NSU (9-5) became tired. Centennial, of Corona, Calif., took advantage of the situation outscoring the Sharks 26-9 in the final quarter.
For the game, NSU had 23 turnovers. Most of the miscues came in the closing moments of this contest. When the Huskies were sent to the free-throw line in the fourth, they made 9 of 11 shots. In fact, with just over four minutes left in the game, Paris Dawson made three free throws to give the Huskies a 52-51 lead.
NSU failed to reclaim the lead.
Dawson led Centennial in scoring with 17 points.
Taylor Hendricks’ 10 points led the way for the Sharks.
Chicago Team Outlasts Jacksonville
The Jacksonville Titans and Orr Academy entertained the people in attendance at the Pine Bluff Convention Center Monday.
Jacksonville and Orr Academy – of Chicago – had and fun battle in which the Titans led 48-43 at the end of the third quarter. But Jacksonville was outscored 21-14 in the fourth. Two important stats from the final quarter is Jacksonville went 1 of 6 from beyond the arc. As for the Spartans, they made 6 of 10 free throws in the final moments of the game.
Also, Jacksonville’s outstanding guard Davonte Davis scored only nine points. Meanwhile, Jordan Maxwell and Ryan Maxwell led the Titans with 13 points apiece.
Damarius Splunge was the Spartans’ top scorer with 24 and Bryce Hall had 13.
Hornets Sting the Rangers
The Bryant Hornets concluded their time at the King Cotton Classic with a solid showing against Raymond (Miss.). Bryant cruised to a 68-58 victory.
Bryant led 34-24 at the half.
The Hornets took care of business in the second half not allowing the Rangers to go on a game-changing run.
Treylon Payne was Bryant’s top scorer with 19, Will Diggins scored 14, as Cam Hunter and Khasen Robinson compiled 13 points apiece.
For Raymond, Jabarie Robinson shined leading the way with 26.
Zebras Win Battle of Pine Bluff
The Pine Bluff Zebras earned a 56-36 win over Pine Bluff Dollarway at the King Cotton tourney.
Dollarway trailed 17-12 after one quarter of play. However, Pine Bluff outscored the Cardinals 19-7 in the second quarter. The Cardinals could not overcome the double-digit halftime deficit, ultimately losing by 20.
Logan Smith’s 23 points led the Zebras while Troy’reon Ramos scored 15. For Dollarway, Prince Okojie had 12 points.
Patriots Unable to Overcome Slow Start
The Little Rock Parkview Patriots lost 68-62 to Memphis Wooddale Monday afternoon.
After a sluggish first quarter in which it scored only eight points, Parkview performed better in the second and was within striking distance of the Wooddale Cardinals at 31-28. But Wooddale started to creep away from Parkview in third as they carried a 7-point lead into the final period.
The Cardinals did enough to hold on for a tough victory.
Jonathan Lawson scored 27 to lead Wooddale while Jalen Brown had 22. As for Parkview, Christian Winkler had 13, Cameron Wallace 12, and Ryan Gordon finished with 11.
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