Plano East winner of Fayetteville tourney
FAYETTEVILLE — Plano (Texas) East scored 20 consecutive points in the second and third quarters to surge past Fayetteville 70-33 on Saturday in the championship game of the Hoopin’ On The Hill boys basketball tournament at Bulldog Arena.
Plano East ended the second quarter with 10 consecutive points then continued to dominate the third quarter to lead 38-19. Fayetteville finally ended its drought on the first of two straight baskets by Ben Rockwell.
Plano East (15-0) was led by Isaiah Brewington, who scored 12 of his 17 points in the first half. The 5-9 senior guard opened the game with a three-pointer then penetrated for baskets or assists inside to his taller teammates. Brewington contributed four consecutive free throws when Plano East ended the first half with a 10-0 run.
“We’ve got a great group of kids and they’ve been on varsity a long time,” said Plano East Coach Matt Wester, whose 14man roster includes 11 seniors. “The seniors won 24 games as sophomores, 31 games as juniors, so they just find a way to win. Today, they did it defensively.”
DJ Hudson scored 9 points to lead Fayetteville (7-2), which led 15-11 after a three-pointer by Xavier Brown. No one else had more than six for the Bulldogs.
OWASSO, OKLA. 71, NORTH LITTLE ROCK 59
Jalen Montonati scored 19 of his 25 points in the first half to lead Owasso, Okla., past North Little Rock in the thirdplace game.
Montonati, a 6-7 sophomore forward played for the USA U16 team over the summer. He had 33 points against eSTEM on Thursday and 13 points in a loss to Fayetteville on Friday.
Montonati regained his shooting touch against North Little Rock, which trailed 39-29 at halftime and 55-24 after three quarters. Jax Kerr added 20 points for Owasso, while Ja’Kory Withers scored 21 to lead North Little Rock.
GIRLS FAYETTEVILLE 47, TULSA UNION 43
Fayetteville rallied from a nine-point deficit in the second half to beat Tulsa Union in the final round of the girls Bulldog Classic at Bulldog Arena.
Whitney Brown scored 14 points and Maiesha Washington 11 to lead Fayetteville (4-4), which trailed 28-19 in the third quarter.
Brown kept Fayetteville in the game early with her outside shooting and made an inside basket to give Fayetteville a 40-35 lead that prompted a Union timeout.
In the final seconds, Brown tracked down a missed free throw and passed to Charley Rawlins, who made two free throws.
“Whitney is our heart and soul and the leader of our team,” Fayetteville Coach Vic Rimmer said. “She’s our point guard, she can score and she’s a great defensive player.”
Washington helped key an 11-1 run in the fourth quarter. The 6-1 junior swept into the lane for a basket then followed with a three-pointer to put Fayetteville ahead 38-32.
Fayetteville needed those plays to hold off Union (4-2), which got to within one point behind the play of Esme Smith, who finished with 19 points for the Redhawks.
“Maiesha Washington, that’s her third game of the season,” Rimmer said. “She had a medical issue that kept her out. She had some big plays for us and she’s going to keep getting better and better.”