Friday night hoops
Sylvan Hills’ victory over LR Christian highlights busy slate.
Sylvan Hills guard Nick Smith (left) drives to the basket against Little Rock Christian’s Christian Sanson during Friday night’s game in Little Rock. Sanson was called for a foul on the play.
Little Rock Christian made serious runs at Sylvan Hills during the second half of Friday night’s game, but Nick Smith made more to guide the Bears to a victory on the road.
The junior scored 13 of his team’s 22 fourth-quarter points as Sylvan Hills beat Little Rock Christian 65-56 at Warrior Arena.
“Nick does what he does night in and night out,” Sylvan Hills Coach Kevin Davis said. “He’s just able to do so much on the floor with and without the ball. But the thing about him is that he does a good job of knowing where his teammates are.
“Sometimes, he puts himself in some really tight spots, and he gets double- and triple-teamed. Yet, he’ll still find a shooter in the corner. That’s just a credit to him and the work he puts into the game.”
Smith’s work was on full display in a contest Davis said was the most physical one of his team’s season. Three days after scoring 44 points in a victory over Jacksonville, the 6-4 guard had 34 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals for Sylvan Hills (16-3, 8-1 5A-Central), which completed a season sweep of the Warriors.
Junior guard Shamar Womack added 10 points while senior guard Trenton Clark finished with nine points for the Bears, who will host firstplace Maumelle (14-2, 6-0) on Tuesday night. The Hornets are a game up on both Sylvan Hills and Little Rock Parkview (14-2, 7-1) in the loss column.
Senior guard Trey Jones and junior forward Creed Williamson each scored 12 points, and sophomore guard Layden Blocker contributed 11 points for Little Rock Christian (13-6, 2-4). The Warriors turned the ball over five times in both the first and second quarters, and trailed by as many as 17 points before facing a 36-22 deficit by halftime. But Sylvan Hills shot 2 of 10 in the third quarter as the game got interesting.
Sylvan Hills led 41-28 early in the third quarter after a three-pointer from Clark with 6:21 left, but Little Rock Christian scored 10 of the final 12 points of the quarter, with many coming off turnovers, to gnaw away at the Bears’ lead. A pair of free throws by Williamson closed the gap to 43-38 by the time the fourth quarter began.
That’s when Smith reasserted himself offensively. He either scored or assisted on every point during the Bears’ 8-0 run to start the period, which pushed the lead to 5140. Little Rock Christian got the deficit to single digits on several occasions over the next six minutes, but Smith usually had an answer by either scoring or finding an open teammate.
“Our kids persevered and withstood the runs that [Little Rock Christian] made,” Davis said. “Basketball can turn on a dime at any point, and it did at times. But our guys stayed the course, made big plays and hit big shots when they needed to.”
GIRLS LITTLE ROCK CHRISTIAN 68, SYLVAN HILS 47
Junior forward Sheridan Cross scored a team-high 20 points for Little Rock Christian (17-1, 8-0 5A-Central), which dominated after trailing 18-15 at the end of the first quarter.
The Lady Warriors held Sylvan Hills (8-6, 4-4) to 1-of-10 shooting in the second quarter and outscored the Lady Bears 18-2 during that eight-minute span to lead 33-20 at the half. Junior guard Ashton Elley had 17 points, 10 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocks while senior forward Wynter Rogers, who sat most of the first half with foul trouble, finished with 10 points for Little Rock Christian. Ashley Hopper, a junior forward, tossed in nine points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Lady Warriors.
Sophomore Jianna Morris ended with 21 points while her classmate, Jayla Stirgus, delivered 12 points for Sylvan Hills, which was outrebounded 33-15.