Hogs soar over Hawks
TEXARKANA, Texas — Arkansas High outscored Pleasant Grove, 61-26, in the middle quarters and went on to a 91-61 victory in a varsity boys basketball game at Hawk Gym on Monday.
“We started slow,” Razorbacks head coach Sam Weaver said. “But at halftime the guys told me, ‘Don’t come into the locker room. We’ve got this.’ And we have been talking to them about taking ownership.
“They came out tonight and hit some shots that really got them motivated. It’s good to come back from break and get a win. We start conference play on Friday, and we are looking forward to conference play. Coach (Dwight) McCowan does a good job with his kids.”
Jordan Jones poured in a game-high 29 points to go with five rebounds, while teammate Nick Watson had a double-double with 24 points and 13 rebounds for Arkansas High.
“They were the better team,” Hawks head coach McCowan said. “They hit us in the mouth in the second and third quarters. This is the first time all year that we did not respond well to
adversity. We will work on handling adversity better. When we get hit, we have to respond. Typically, we respond. We didn’t tonight and that is a credit to them. They kept pouring it on.”
T’Vondrick Henry led Pleasant Grove with 20 points, and Torey Phillips had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Henry scored 10 of his 20 points in the first quarter
and the Hawks took a 23-14 lead. Midway through the first, Pleasant Grove hit a 7-0 spurt with a Henry layup, a Phillips putback and a Phillips layup.
But Arkansas High came roaring back in the second. The Hogs went on a 14-0 run and went into the locker room with a 41-38 lead.
Watson hit a jump shot, Kryson Young hit a short jumper, Andre Reed hit a short jumper, Young swished one in from 3-point land, Reed hit a charity shot, Young had a putback and Reed jumped high into the air on a 4-foot floater.
Jones’ 14-point performance for the Hogs in the third quarter outscored the Hawks’ team total of 11. Boosted by a 19-0 run, Arkansas High outscored Pleasant Grove, 34-11, in the third.
Mason Cornelius, who finished with 10 points, hit a shot from downtown to start the run. Jones and Watson hit back-to-back jump shots, Jones swished in a jumper, Young hit a jump shot, Jones hit a short-range jumper and Anton Harper made a putback for the Hogs. Cornelius slammed one home and Watson made a layup to complete the run. Young finished with 12 points.
The fourth quarter was played close to even terms with Arkansas High outscoring PG, 16-12.
Arkansas High hit on 39 of 64 shots for a field goal percentage of 61 percent, while the Hawks hit 24 of 53 shots from the field for 45 percent.
Pleasant Grove had 25 turnovers, while the Hogs committed 18. Arkansas High pulled down 37 boards, and the Hawks had 23.