Sylvan Hills takes over in 2nd quarter

BOYS SYLVAN HILLS 60, JOE T. ROBINSON 36

Sylvan Hills, leading by five heading into the second quarter, outscored Joe T. Robinson 29-9 in the period to cruise to a 60-36 victory at Sylvan Hills Middle School on Friday night.

The Bears’ (6-2) point total in the second quarter was 15 more than they scored in the final two quarters. The Senators (5-3) put up 21 points in the second half

“I thought it was going to be real ugly given our start, but once we were able to start putting on some defense, that started to fuel some offense,” Sylvan Hills Coach Kevin Davis said.

The Bears coach was displeased with his team’s rebounding.

“I feel we were just standing around too much,” he said. “Robinson did a good job on the rebounds early in the ball game, but we talked about it at the half and finally came around.”

Pulaski County schools were involved in semester tests during the final week of classes before the Christmas break, and Davis thought that had an effect on the game.

“We just need to continue to work on our defense,” Davis said. “It’s a work in progress, but once that gets going and clean up on the boards, we will start playing better.”

Mekhi Perkins got the Senators off to a good start, hitting a three-pointer 35 seconds into the game. Sylvan Hills scored the next eight points before Robinson could get back on the board.

By the time the quarter had ended, the Bears had a 17-12 lead. By the time the two teams had played four minutes of the second quarter, Sylvan Hills had moved to a 29-12 lead.

Amarion Watson, who hit two three-pointers in the quarter, and Nick Smith each scored eight points in the quarter, helping Sylvan Hills take a 46-21 lead at the half.

The Bears managed a 9-4 scoring advantage in the third quarter but didn’t score until the 5:04 mark. Sylvan Hills increased its lead to 55-25.

The Bears lost the services of Smith in the fourth quarter when coaches pulled him from the game when he developed some breathing problems.

Perkins led the Senators with 11 points.

Corey Washington had a game-high 16 points to lead the Bears. Watson added 13, and Smith chipped in with 12, all of them coming in the first half.

GIRLS SYLVAN HILLS 78, JOE T. ROBINSON 37

The Lady Bears scored the first 10 points of the game and didn’t allow the Lady Senators to score until the 5:50 mark of the first quarter to score an easy victory.

By halftime, Sylvan Hills had increased its lead to 42-24, then pushed it to 68-34 after three quarters.

Karsyn Morgan led the Lady Bears (2-0) with a game-high 18 points while Shayla Golden added 13. Jada Williams and Jianna Morris chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Alex Rouse led the Lady Senators (04) with 17 points.