AHS boys, girls sweep Bradley
Both Arkansas High varsity basketball teams protected home court Tuesday night at Razorback Gym. The Lady Backs (1-0) defeated Bradley, 51-37, and the Hogs (1-0) defeated the Bears, 89-54.
Arkansas High led from the first quarter in the varsity girls game and never looked back.
The first quarter consisted of turnovers and missed shots, with AHS coming on top of the scoreboard, 13-4.
“The girls played really hard and we executed our game plan we went over leading into this game,” Arkansas High head basketball coach Venture Watson said. “We ran our press defense, but we missed a lot of shots. The effort was there, so that makes up for that.”
Senior Tyesha Harris started to heat up for the Bears. Harris finished with 19 points and five rebounds for Bradley.
AHS led the Bears at intermission, 21-12.
“We’ve had some really good practices leading up to this opener,” Watson said. “The teamwork and cohesiveness is there, instead of waiting later in the season. We’re going to come in tomorrow and brush up on somethings before we head into the Battle of the Hardwood in Shreveport.”
The beginning of the second half saw more offensive output with both teams. Bradley scored 15 points in the third and the Lady Backs poured in 18 points in the third period.
Watson’s bunch kept their foot on the pedal with their full-court press.
“I’m glad our girls gave a great effort,” Watson said. “We broke down our offenses and went over what we expected from the girls in practice. I’m really excited about what we have in the future, as long as we make some shots, we’ll be alright.”
During the fourth quarter, a Bradley player made a layup in the AHS cup at the 3:15 mark.
The Lady Backs were leading, 47-35, with 2:30 left in the contest and kept their feet moving in the full-court press.
Juniors Kiara Young and Cedriana Daniels, each poured in 13 points for the Lady Backs. Daniels cleaned the glass with nine boards and Young added five rebounds.
Tierra Holliman added nine points for the Lady Backs.
“The top teams in the area will be playing in the tournament we’re in over the holidays,” Watson said. “Hopefully, we can correct some things and win some games while we’re in Shreveport. I want to keep my girls motivated throughout the season and long winning streaks is one way to do that.” Bradley 4 8 15 10 — 37 Arkansas High 13 8 18 10 — 51 BHS (37): Lyons 4, Singletary 6, Ellis 4, Smith 4, Harris 17. TEAM TOTALS 15 7-13 9 37. AHS (51): Young 13, Holliman 9, Daniels 13, Hayden 6, Strickland 2, Brewer 6. TEAM TOTALS 17 2-4 14 51. 3-point goals: BHS-Harris 2. AHS-Holliman 3, Hayden.
BOYS
ARKANSAS HIGH 89, BRADLEY 54
Arkansas High’s varsity boys squad kept their foot on the gas from the opening tip.
The Hogs full court pressure and motion offense was too much for the Bears to keep up with in the first quarter.
AHS led Bradley, 25-8, after the first period.
Hog transfer Ajon Gray used his brute strength from the first quarter until he was substituted for late in the fourth quarter. Gray finished the night with 24 points and 11 boards.
Razorback senior captain Fabian Phillips scored the nets for AHS in the second quarter. Phillips dropped 18 points in the game but 10 of those came in the second period.
“We haven’t carried much over from practice to the game,” Arkansas High head basketball coach Sam Weaver said. “I understand it was the jitters of the first game but we have to corral that. We didn’t show a lot of discipline at times, and we weren’t very good in transition. We have to get better and understand what we’re doing out there on the floor.”
The Bears trailed the Razorbacks, 47-22, at half.
The second stanza began much like the first, although Bradley started to gain offensive traction through the shooting of Devon Taylor and Allen Taylor. Devon finished with 15 points and Allen dropped a team-high 26 points during the contest.
Senior guard Cameron Dockery finished with nine points on the night for the Razorbacks.
Junior Micah Yarber and sophomore Jaylan Randle, each poured in eight points for the Hogs.
“We don’t actually have a post player,” Weaver said. “He runs back into the post for us but our posts have done a good job of rebounding for us. They get their hands on a lot of loose balls, which gives us second chance shots.”
With the Sportmanship Rule in affect, AHS was able to get reserves more playing time against viable varsity competition.
“We have some things to work on,” Weaver said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to get a few things corrected, because this is a long season and you have to be prepared for it.” Bradley 8 14 19 13 — 54 Arkansas High 25 22 22 18 — 87 BHS (54): D. Taylor 15, Mills 3, A. Taylor 26, Williams 3, Florence 5, Martin 3. TEAM TOTALS 21 4-12 12 54. AHS (87): Yarber 8, Phillips 18, Gray 24, Blair 4, Dockery 9, Plummer 4, Easter 2, Randal 8, Craig 6, Gooden 4. TEAM TOTALS 42 2-6 15 87. 3-point goals- BHS-D. Taylor 4, Mills, Williams, Florence, Martin. AHS-Dockery.