Strickland’s 35 deliver LR Christian

BEEBE — Will Strickland made 11 three-pointers to lead Little Rock Christian with 35 points in a 72-43 rout of Dumas on Thursday in the opening round of the Beebe Holiday Classic at Badger Arena in Beebe.

Strickland broke open the game in the first half with 9 three-pointers that included 4 in a row during the second quarter to push Little Rock Christian to a commanding 41-14 lead at halftime.

“He [Strickland] was unconscious out there,” Little Rock Christian Coach Clarence Finley said.

“We kept feeding it to him. In the last two weeks he hasn’t been shooting it that well. He worked on his shooting and it paid off in the first half.”

Little Rock Christian jumped out to a 7-0 lead on baskets by Mykal Moore, Justice Hill and Strickland’s first three-pointer. Hill and Cortez Finley scored to push the lead to 11-2 before Chris Harris scored twice and Trey Slater made a three-pointer for Dumas.

Strickland finished out the first quarter scoring back-to-back three-pointers to give Little Rock Christian an 18-7 lead.

Strickland opened the second period with another three-pointer. Hill added three and Strickland hit again from beyond the arch. Kalin Bennett scored inside for Little Rock Christian, then Strickland made 4 threes in succession and finished the first half with 27 points.

“We got some transition baskets off our defense and that was better than what we have been doing,” Finley said. “We are a much better basketball team when we can score in transition and when our defense can put them back on their heels a little bit.”

Willie Chappie’s reverse layup with 5:12 left in the third quarter gave Little Rock Christian a 47-16 advantage.

Chris Hightower scored two baskets and Bennett hit again inside to keep Little Rock Christian in front 5529 by the end of the third quarter.

Along with Strickland’s game-high 35 points, Hill added 16 in the victory. Dumas was led by Harris with 23 points that included 5 three-pointers and 17 second-half points.

Little Rock Christian plays Searcy in a semifinal game at 5:30 p.m. today.