Wolves come up short against Hall
WEST MEMPHIS — With five players standing 6-3 or taller, Little Rock Hall’s length presented matchup problems that proved too much for Lake Hamilton’s senior boys to overcome Friday night.
As Hall’s junior big man Kevon Cooper defended the paint, the Wolves (25-6) struggled to find a rhythm on offense and were held to just 25 points through three quarters of a 53-44 loss in the quarterfinals of the Class 6A state tournament at West Memphis High School’s Lehr Arena.
“Their size, length and athleticism was something that we haven’t seen since Christmas against Conway,” Lake Hamilton coach Scotty Pennington said. “They did a great job pressuring us. They’re a really athletic team, and they’re a good basketball team. If you win 23 games in that Little Rock conference, you have a really good basketball team.
“I’m not sold that they aren’t the best team in the state, but that’s left to be found out. We had opportunities to win the game, but we just couldn’t get it done.”
Hall’s Gregory Johnson and Xzavier Madison each scored five points in the opening quarter for an early 13-10 advantage, junior guard Lane Kersey with six points to lead the Wolves.
After junior forward Kanaan Williams scored the first points of the game on a layup, Lake Hamilton never regained the lead the rest of the way.
Held to just five points in the second quarter, a stingy defensive performance kept the Wolves in the game in the first half. Lake Hamilton held the Warriors to just five points of their own in the frame and sophomore guard Malique Hill buried a 3-pointer to bring the Wolves within 18-15 at the break.
“If we get ahead, it’s a different game,” said Pennington. “We never could get there, because of our struggles early. We could cut it to three or two, but we never could get over that hump. A lot of that was them and their ability to turn us over.”
With four points each from Kersey and Williams, Lake Hamilton showed signs of life offensively in the third quarter, but Hall (25-8) countered with seven points from Johnson, outscoring the Wolves 11-10 for a slim 29-25 lead entering the pivotal fourth quarter.
“We did a good job defensively,” Pennington said. “Our defense gave us a chance to win, but we didn’t hit enough shots. We came out a little jittery and maybe a little over-hyped. We got some good looks, but we couldn’t knock them down.”
After Lake Hamilton’s Clyde Hill and Jacob Spradlin each received their fourth personal fouls in the early minutes of the fourth quarter, Cooper took advantage of the smaller lineup.
The junior scored 10 of his 14 points in the final frame as the Warriors stretched their lead to as many as 11 points. With the season on the line, Kersey caught fire to make things interesting down the stretch.
The junior scored 12 of Lake Hamilton’s first 14 points in the fourth quarter, including consecutive shots from behind the arc to bring the Wolves within 43-38 with less than three minutes to play.
After two free throws from Michael Peterson pushed Hall’s lead back to 45-38, Kersey was called for his fifth personal foul with 2:08 remaining and Lake Hamilton never recovered.
Kersey finished with 22 points to lead all scorers. “It was a huge swing,” said Pennington. “It felt like all the momentum was going our way. There was still two or three minutes left in the game and we were turning them over and hitting shots. Lane was finally rolling and then he gets called for the foul, and it felt like a punch to the gut. There was a lot of adversity to overcome in the game. Give our kids credit. They didn’t quit and battled to the end, but just couldn’t get over the hump.”
With Lake Hamilton fouling to preserve time, the Warriors converted on their last eight attempts from the free throw line to prevent the comeback bid.
Johnson paced Hall with 18 points and Cooper finished with 14 points. Williams scored eight points for the Wolves.
Despite falling in their first game of the state tournament, Pennington believes this season could be the start of something more for the Wolves. Lake Hamilton will return nearly its entire roster next season, with Spradlin the lone graduating senior.
“I don’t think anybody is going to see Lake Hamilton on their schedule and grin,” Pennington said. “These kids are going to stay hungry. It will be the last run for these juniors, and they want to do something with it. Of course things change with the new conferences and classifications, but there’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll have another special season next year.”