Titans stand tallest in 5A-Central race

5A-CENTRAL BOYS

JACKSONVILLE 57, SYLVAN HILLS 51

With sole possession of first place in the 5A-Central Conference up for grabs Friday night, the Jacksonville Titans seized control.

Even though Sylvan Hills erased a 16-point third-quarter deficit to tie the game early in the fourth, Jacksonville stayed poised in the waning minutes to survive 57-51 at Titan Gymnasium.

Both teams entered 3-0 in the 5A-Central, but the Titans (8-4, 4-0) now are the only undefeated team in league play.

“This conference is so good, coaches are so good, you can’t sit on that,” Jacksonville Coach Victor Joyner said. “You say we got a comfortable lead? No we don’t. We just have a lead, but it ain’t comfortable. Not in this conference, it’s not.”

Jacksonville overwhelmed Sylvan Hills (12-4, 3-1) by forcing turnovers and cashing in on the other end. It was only fitting that the play of the game was yet another case of that.

With just under a minute remaining in the final quarter and the Titans clinging to a 53-51 advantage, Jacksonville senior point guard Davonte Davis, a University of Arkansas signee, came up with a steal and bolted for the other end before rising for a thunderous dunk, triggering one of the loudest roars of the night in the Titans’ jampacked gym.

After two missed free throws and two more turnovers by Sylvan Hills, Jacksonville sophomore guard Christian Moore iced the game with two free throws with 14.5 seconds left.

“For the most part, we played some solid freaking defense,” Joyner said.

Junior forward Ryan Maxwell led Jacksonville with 15 points, and Moore and junior forward T.J. Stewart each finished with 14.

Sophomore guard Nick Smith, who holds an offer from Arkansas, paced Sylvan Hills with a game-high 26 points, while sophomore forward Corey Washington and senior guard DeShaun Fowlkes each added 8.

5A-CENTRAL GIRLS SYLVAN HILLS 51, JACKSONVILLE 49

It took a last-second shot at the buzzer, but visiting Sylvan Hills withstood a fourth-quarter surge by Jacksonville to steal a victory Friday night.

Freshman Jianna Morris dribbled to the right wing before she stepped back and heaved a three-pointer right before the buzzer sounded. After her shot swished through the net, the gym turned into a frenzy, and Morris was mobbed at midcourt by her Sylvan Hills teammates.

Sylvan Hills (13-4, 4-0) had led 38-35 heading into the final period, but Jacksonville (8-8, 3-1) grabbed a 49-44 lead with less than two minutes left.

Morris finished with 27 points, while junior Daniya Cartwright added 11 for the Lady Bears.

Sophomore Brooklyn Roland led Jacksonville with 12 points, and sophomore guard Da’kariya Jackson tallied nine.