Sims, May again provide big punch for Russellville

RUSSELLVILLE 53, WATSON CHAPEL 45

CONWAY — Russellville’s Grayson Sims and Donyae May did the same thing Saturday that they did Friday during the John Stanton Classic. They took turns shouldering the bulk of the scoring load for the Cyclones, and it was enough to carry them to another impressive victory.

The duo combined for 34 points as Russellville muscled it way past Watson Chapel 5345 at Buzz Bolding Arena.

May, who was coming off a 21-point effort the day before in the Cyclones’ 62-44 win over Conway, scored 14 of his team-high 20 points in the first half. Sims, who had 20 points Friday, netted nine of his 14 points after halftime for Russellville (4-5), which has seemingly found its footing after going through a semirough patch a few weeks ago after losing three games in a row during a tournament at Republic, Mo.

But that skid may have done the Cyclones more good than anything else, particularly because of the circumstances they were saddled with at that time.

“We’re up eight during that tournament on a team from Kansas City that can absolutely go, and Donyae takes an elbow to the head,” Russellville Coach Kyle Pennington said. “He gets eight stitches, and the rest of that tournament you can just chalk it up. The other kids played their tails off, and we almost still won that game. But it wasn’t really about Donyae. It was the fact that the point guard for three years wasn’t out there.

“I thought Grayson and some other kids played really well during that situation, and it made us better. We lost a close game to Fayetteville before that, we’re sitting at 0-4 and people are wondering what’s wrong. But I kept telling the kids in the locker room that we’re fine and to just play and stick together.”

Since that time, Russellville has won four of five and showed against Watson Chapel (4-4) that it can bear down if it has to.

The Cyclones used a 9-0 run in the first quarter and a 14-0 burst in the second to build a 32-17 halftime lead. May had a stretch where he had a hand in 14 consecutive points during the latter flurry.

Sims got going in the third, knocking down three-pointers on three of the team’s first six possessions. His 24-footer from the wing gave the Cyclones a 41-24 lead midway through the period, but the Wildcats didn’t fade.

Watson Chapel, which was playing without standout forward Antwon Emsweller, notched 17 of the game’s next 24 points, nine of which by Khamani Cooper. A layup by Hampton Hall cut Russellville’s advantage to 50-41 with 2:43 left. But the Wildcats weren’t able to cut into that bulge any further until Cooper’s dunk during the final seconds.

“We’ve got to continue to trust each other,” Pennington said. “We played well in the tournament last week in Rogers, and then played two really good games here. So we’re on the right track.

“We’ve got [Little Rock] Parkview coming to town on Tuesday, and we know that’s going to be big-boy basketball. But we’re excited about where we’re headed.”

Cooper, who had 32 points in the Wildcats’ prior game, finished with 22 points. Hall contributed six points and 11 rebounds.

LITTLE ROCK CATHOLIC 44, HOT SPRINGS 38

Catholic (6-4) used two huge three-pointers during the final two minutes to win for the fifth time in its last six games.

C.J. Onyekwelu had a team-high 16 points for the Rockets. The junior nailed a three-pointer just as the shot clock sounded with 1:51 left to give Catholic a 41-36 lead. With the Rockets clinging to a 41-38 advantage, Ben Pace drilled a 22-footer with 12 seconds left to essentially lock up the victory.

Beau Kronenberger had nine points – all on three-pointers – and Ben Biernat added eight points for Catholic. Jabari West finished with 23 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks for Hot Springs (5-4), which committed 13 of its 17 turnovers in the second half.

CONWAY 78, FAYETTEVILLE 57

Conway (7-2) fared much better in its finale than it did in its opener.

The Wampus Cats got 24 points from Colen Thompson and 23 points from Dwayne Lockhart to cruise. Keiron Duncan also had 12 points for Conway, which took an 18-point loss from Russellville on Day 1 but responded on Day 2 by cooling off the Bulldogs, who had won four of their previous five.

Fayetteville (5-3) led 31-30 with 3:39 left in the second quarter until Conway scored the last 14 points to open up a 13-point lead at halftime. The Wampus Cats continued to push their margin out in the third behind Lockhart, who had 11 points in the quarter, and were comfortably in charge during the fourth.

Landon Glasper scored 17 points and Mason Simpson had 13 points for Fayetteville.

BENTONVILLE 78, MAUMELLE 48

Owen Dehrmann scored 20 points as the Tigers (6-3) put Friday’s loss to Little Rock Central behind them by blasting Maumelle (7-2).

Jaylen Lee had 19 points and six rebounds and Harrison Hicks tallied 14 points for the Tigers, who were leading 17-13 early in the second quarter before embarking on a eye-opening run to take over. Mason Krakau also had nine points.

Bentonville, which played without two of its starters, outscored the Hornets 27-8 over the final seven minutes of the half to grab a 44-21 lead by halftime. Maumelle missed 14 of its 16 shots in the quarter, then went 0 of 7 to start the third.

Nico Davillier scored 12 points and Kaleb Thurman ended with nine points for Maumelle.

JONESBORO 44, MILLS 35

Jesse Washington had 17 points for Jonesboro (6-1), which found itself in a battle most of the way against the defending Class 4A state champions.

The Golden Hurricane went on a 9-0 run, fueled by seven points from A’marion Wilson, to create a double-digit lead by the end of the first quarter. Jonesboro led 19-4 in the second, but Mills (1-5), which is still without leading scorer Javion Guy-King because of an injury he sustained on Nov. 22 during a benefit game with Jonesboro, scrapped back and cut its deficit to 24-16 by halftime.

Jonesboro made just three buckets in the third, yet took a 30-22 lead in the fourth. Kavon Pointer, who finished with 11 points, scored on three straight possessions to push the Golden Hurricane’s advantage to 38-24. The Comets eventually made it a 42-35 game after a pull-up jumper from Q.J. King with 55 ticks left.

King had 11 points and Keaton Cross added nine points for Mills.