Malvern breaks down Monticello

DUMAS — A flurry of third-quarter action around the Monticello Billies’ basket summed up the Class 4A South Region boys title game Saturday.

Pounding the boards, the defending state champion Billies got off four shots and made none in their 62-57 loss to Malvern.

The Billies (22-4) owned the boards but not the game. With Andre Jones leading the Leopards, Malvern earned the top seed into the state tournament next week on its home court.

“This far into the season, we know what we don’t do well,’’ said Malvern Coach Chris Meseke, whose team improved to 27-2. “But we also do some things very well.”

Jones, who has signed with UALR, finished with 21 points, but it was more his ball-handling and breaking down the Monticello defense to feed teammates for open layups that kept the Billies from making a serious run at the Leopards. Jordan Hughes benefited the most from Jones’ work, scoring 15. Harold Brownlee had nine.

“He is a special player and he does what special players do,’’ Meseke said. “He does not have to score for us to win. He can control the game in other ways.”

A late 7-0 run in the first quarter gave Malvern a 2012 cushion to carry into the second quarter. The Billies closed to within 22-20, but another strong Malvern finish before halftime allowed the Leopards to take a 33-23 lead at the half.

Monticello got as close as seven in the third quarter but trailed 44-31 to start the fourth quarter. The final margin of five was as close as the Billies could get.

DJ Franklin paced Monticello with 28 points. Tyree Nolen and Xavier Robinson finished with 11 points each.