Jacksonville closes LR Fair’s program
JACKSONVILLE 57, LR FAIR 37
RUSSELLVILLE — The final boys basketball game between two of Central Arkansas’ most competitive programs in the 21st century, Jacksonville and Little Rock Fair, turned out to be a one-sided affair.
Jacksonville, the 5A-Central Conference champion, controlled Wednesday’s Class 5A boys state tournament firstround matchup, eliminating the War Eagles 57-37 at Cyclone Arena.
The Titans (18-5) will face Little Rock Christian or Greene County Tech at 8:30 p.m. Friday in a quarterfinal matchup.
Little Rock Fair, which will close after the 2019-20 school year along with Little Rock McClellan to form the new Little Rock Southwest High School, ended its season at 15-12.
Davonte Davis, a University of Arkansas signee, finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists for the Titans. Ryan Marshall had 12 points.
The Titans shot 23 of 35 from the floor, while the War Eagles were held to 14-of-51 shooting.
“The kids came out focused today,” Jacksonville Coach Victor Joyner said. “They were really intense. They weren’t ready to stop.
“Greene County Tech and Little Rock Christian are pretty good teams, so we’ll have to come out and play even better.”
Little Rock Fair Coach Charlie Johnson credited the Titans for their play.
“They’ve got a good bunch,” Johnson said. “They came out well. They look like a team that could win it all.”
Jamison Bracy scored 12 points for the War Eagles.
Jacksonville scored the game’s first eight points and led 14-4 entering the second quarter.
Braxton Brown’s three-pointer made it 24-10 Jacksonville with 2:30 left before halftime. The Titans went into halftime with a 28-17 advantage.
With 6:25 left in the third quarter, Davis dished to TJ Stewart, whose slam dunk extended the Titans’ lead to 3217. Stewart had another dunk at the 3:22 mark for a 41-21 advantage, and Jacksonville entered the fourth quarter with a 44-22 lead.
Jacksonville’s largest lead was 51-25 after Davis’ basket with 5:30 left to play.
Joyner said Wednesday’s game was a tough one to coach because of his friendship with Johnson. Both coaches have won two state championships at their schools.
“We talked before the game, and I said I hated to play him. He hated to play me,” said Joyner, who led Jacksonville to titles in 2009 and 2013. “We were going to knock one of us out. We didn’t really want that because we’ve been such close friends.
“He’s a legend around here.”
Johnson — who has coached at Fair since 1997-98 and guided the War Eagles to state titles in 2000 and 2003 — said he has shown interest in the Southwest head coaching position. But on Wednesday, he reflected on his career with the War Eagles.
“It’s been a great experience,” Johnson said. “I’m going to miss it. You’ve got to move on. I moved on from Hall to Fair. Hopefully, I’ll move on to the new high school.”
MAUMELLE 48, LAKE HAMILTON 38
Maumelle (21-7) advanced to the Class 5A quarterfinals with a victory over Lake Hamilton (20-9).
The Hornets will meet Jonesboro at 8:30 p.m. today.
Taylin Banks led Maumelle with 13 points, while Tre Flowers had 11 points.
Lake Hamilton led 20-19 at halftime, but Maumelle took a 25-20 lead on Flowers’ three-pointer early in the third quarter and led 34-29 entering the fourth quarter.
Maumelle increased its lead to 39-30 on Banks’ three-pointer.
Adjani Winston finished with a gamehigh 20 points for Lake Hamilton. Zac Pennington added 10 points for the Wolves.
SYLVAN HILLS 61, SHERIDAN 36
Nick Smith scored 22 points and Sylvan Hills (20-7) routed Sheridan (17-9).
The Bears will face 5A-East Conference champion West Memphis at 2:30 p.m. Friday in the quarterfinals.
Also for Sylvan Hills, DeShaun Fowlkes had 10 points.
Sylvan Hills led 14-9 at the end of the first quarter. The Bears used a 14-1 run, which included a slam dunk by Smith, to lead 36-16 late in the second quarter, and they went into halftime with a 3619 advantage. They had a 42-29 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Tyler Cacciatori led the Yellowjackets with 15 points and eight rebounds.