State teams fare well in holiday tournaments

Little Rock Central completed the nonconference portion of its schedule with a 10-2 record and a third-place finish in the Ardmore (Okla.) Holiday Festival Tournament during the holiday break. The Tigers’ confidence is soaring, says Central coach Brian Ross. “We got to play some great competition,” Ross said. “We competed really well against some quality teams that I think resemble what we’ll see in conference play. We’re 10-2, and we’ve already won more games than we won all of last year with basically the same players. I think our confidence is very high right now. I can tell you we’ve got some high expectations.” That may be true of a lot of Arkansas teams after their performances in last week’s tournaments. Consider: West Memphis won the Neosho (Mo.) Holiday Classic behind the MVP efforts of junior Chris Moore, who posted 23 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 blocks in a 61-50 championship game victory over Memphis Mitchell. Jonesboro handed Humboldt, Tenn., its first loss of the season in the semifinals of the Poplar Bluff (Mo.) Shootout. The Hurricane suffered a 69-68 loss to the host team in the finals. Jacksonville came into the King Cotton Classic as the No. 8 seed but finished as the runner-up. The Titans knocked off top-seed Houston Math and Science in the first round. North Little Rock earned the fourth-place trophy 38th annual Beachball Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C, a 16-team nationally renowned classic. Arkansas’ girls teams also enjoyed some success. Conway completed the 68th annual Sandra Meadows Classic by winning four of five games, losing in overtime to Cedar Hill, Texas, in the championship game. “We had a good week,” Conway coach Ashley Nance said. “We played five games in three days, and that will test you both mentally and physically, but we proved we had the stamina to do it. Overall, I was pleased with our competitiveness. We played really well.” Senior Asiyha Smith Conway was selected as the Most Valuable Offensive Player in the tournament, averaging 17 points a game. “Every team we played had a big-time player,” Nance said. “But every single game I thought Asiyha was the best player on the court. … She was big-time for us.” Junior Jada Pickens and senior Myia Yelder were also selected to the all-tournament team. Conway (14-2) plays at Fort Smith Southside in its league opener.