Burgess, Benton defeat LR Parkview

CLASS 5A BENTON 67, LITTLE ROCK PARKVIEW 49

SEARCY — There was no question where the ball was going. Benton knew. Little Rock Parkview knew. And there wasn’t anything anyone could do about it.

With the ball in the 6-9 junior Terrion Burgess’ hands early and often, Benton defeated Parkview 67-49 on Saturday in the semifinals of the Class 5A boys state tournament at Lion Arena.

“He’s just a special young man,” Benton Coach Dexter Hendrix said. “I say it all the time about Terrion: ‘I think players can learn a lot from coaches, but coaches can learn a lot from players.’ I’ve learned a lot from Terrion with just the way he carries himself, the competitor he is. He played a complete game today and showed a lot of toughness to finish that game.”

Burgess had a game-high 31 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter. At times, Benton’s go-to offense was Burgess driving to the rim and drawing contact. He made 17 of 21 attempts from the free throw line.

The Panthers (29-4) outscored the Patriots (17-14) in all four quarters. In the second half, Benton outscored Parkview 36-23 to extend a five-point halftime lead.

Parkview kept it close thanks to a zone defense that forced the Benton guards to do the damage. But in the third quarter, Benton junior guard Elem Shelby hit 3 three-pointers to make the Patriots come out of their defensive shell. Shelby finished with 18 points.

“Elem hit those threes and it really opened that up for us,” Hendrix said. “Just really proud of him, he played great.”

Parkview also brought a 6-9 forward to the table in senior Dallas Thomas. Benton started the game with 6-5 junior AD Gray as the primary matchup against Thomas, holding him to one point in the first quarter.

But when Gray got into foul trouble, Hendrix opted for 6-0 sophomore guard Javarious Russell to pick up the assignment.

With Russell and 6-2 sophomore Dae’Juan Ellis covering Thomas, the Clemson signee scored 11 points and just one field goal. Sophomore forward Jayden Slaughter led Parkview with 14 points.

PINE BLUFF 85, LAKE HAMILTON 82, 2OT

Pine Bluff outlasted Lake Hamilton, thanks to the heroics of Courtney Crutchfield.

With the Zebras (23-6) trailing 73-70 in the closing seconds of the first overtime period, Crutchfield sank a running three-pointer at the buzzer to force the second overtime. Pine Bluff outscored Lake Hamilton 12-9 in the second OT.

Crutchfield led the Zebras with 26 points. Kaden Higgins added 14 points.

Senior Ty Robinson scored 49 points to lead Lake Hamilton (26-7).