Steady McClellan puts away Wynne
LITTLE ROCK McCLELLAN 69, WYNNE 57
A balanced offensive attack won out.
The Little Rock McClellan Lions followed three forwards with 13 or more points to a 69-57 victory over the Wynne Yellowjackets at the Lions Den in Little Rock on Thursday night.
Senior Traevon Darrough scored 15 points for McClellan (6-13, 5-4 4A-5). Senior Padrick Martin scored 14 and sophomore Martin Robinson added 13 for the Crimson Lions.
“When we’re successful, I like to have at least three guys in double figures,” McClellan Coach Christopher Threatt said. “Then I want the other guys close to them. If you only have one or two scorers, the defense can generally scheme against those guys. I always look for that balance.”
McClellan’s breakaway moment came late in the second quarter.
Following a layup by Martin, Wynne tied the score at 25-25 on junior forward O.J. Marrs’ 12-foot jumper with 1:27 left before halftime.
McClellan responded with a 9-1 run, completed by Darrough’s three-pointer with 10 seconds left and fast-break slam-dunk at the buzzer, to take a 34-26 halftime lead.
Threatt said his players sometimes forego simplicity, but he said Darrough took advantage to keep McClellan’s run alive.
“He was open for the three, and he took the open shot,” Threatt said. “Then we jumped in the passing lane and passed it to him wide open so he could end the half in a way that can kind of demoralize an opponent, and it gave us a boost going into the second half.”
“Our transition defense killed us,” Wynne Coach J.D. Parker said. “Part of it was, we filled in with not handling the ball well. We had some untimely turnovers, and in the second half, we just didn’t defend.”
A three-pointer by junior guard Kendrick Ester followed by layups from Robinson on three consecutive possessions gave McClellan a 46-28 lead with 4:48 left in the third quarter.
Wynne (8-12, 2-8) would get no closer than 64-53 on a three-point shot from junior guard Kyjuan Gibbs with 1:06 left in the game.
“We had some positives,” Parker said. “We just have to hit a few more shots, and we can’t give away possessions.”
McClellan took control at the start to lead 9-3 after Martin’s fast-break layup with 4:21 left in the first quarter.
A three-pointer by junior Jonathan Robinson put Wynne within 12-8, but a layup by Darrough gave McClellan a 14-8 lead late in the first quarter.
Wynne battled back from a 16-11 first-quarter deficit to tie the score at 16-16 on Marrs’ four-point play with 5:36 left in the second quarter.
Less than a minute later, a three-pointer by sophomore guard D’Marrious Maxwell gave Wynne a 19-16 lead.
“We’ll take a conference win any time we can get it,” Threatt said. “We just have to try to be complete. We have to do the simple things.”
GIRLS
LITTLE ROCK McCLELLAN 42, WYNNE 37
Senior guard Tyianna Robinson scored 12 points to lead Little Rock McClellan to victory over Wynne.
Junior guard Takyra Miles scored nine points for McClellan (6-10, 4-5 4A-5).
Sophomore guard Londyn McDaniel led Wynne (11-9, 6-4) with nine points.