Paragould, Blytheville pick up wins headed into ROTR
Isaiah Jackson scored 29 points Monday night to lead Paragould to a 59-49 victory over Valley View in senior boys’ basketball.
Jackson, Paragould's 6'7" senior forward, scored seven points in the fourth quarter and Gavin Hall added six as the Rams (3-0) pulled away from the Blazers. Paragould led 15-11 after the first quarter and 29-24 at halftime before Valley View crept within 40-37 to end the third quarter.
Hall added 11 points and Jamison Davault finished with eight points for Paragould, which will play host Forrest City at 6:30 Thursday night in the Rumble on the Ridge. The Rams were 16-of-22 at the free throw line, including Jackson’s 15-of-19.
Caleb Allen and Parker St. Pierre scored 10 points each for Valley View (0-2). St. Pierre made three of the Blazers’ five 3-pointers.
Paragould will be one of three teams making their first ever appearance in this year's Rumble on the Ridge tournament.
Rams head basketball coach Jace Watson, beginning his third season with the Rams, is excited to have that opportunity.
Paragould is coming off a tough 1-18 season from a year ago. Watson returns four starters from last year's group and will welcome the players from football.
Paragould will open the Rumble on Thursday against Forrest City, a relatively small, but very quick guard-oriented team, that has started the season 2-0 with wins over Osceola and Newport.
The two teams last met during the 2017-18 season in conference play with the Mustangs winning both games.
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Blytheville opened the season Monday night with a 7242 victory over Buffalo Island Central in senior boys’ basketball.
The Chickasaws led 19-6 at the end of the first quarter. Blytheville boosted its lead to 41-18 at halftime and led 60-32 at the end of the third quarter.
Camron Jones led Blytheville with 15 points. Elijah Donnerson added 12 points while Rashaud Marshall and Travis finished with eight points each for the Chickasaws, 1-1, who will play Marianna Lee on Thursday at 5 p.m. in the Rumble on the Ridge in Forrest City.
Jaron Burrow led BIC with 10 points.
Blytheville suffered a 78-63 loss to Osceola on Nov. 18.
Head coach McKenzie Pierce has Blytheville back in the Rumble on the Ridge tournament for the second time. His 2016 team finished seventh in the eight team field, knocking off Raleigh-Egypt 5750 in that trophy game.
Blytheville was scheduled to return last year for the All Arkansas edition of the 2020 tournament, but did not after the Rumble and most tournaments across the state were cancelled due to covid issues.
Last year's team finished 283. Jonesboro tuned up for the regular season Monday night with a 62-38 victory over Little Rock Mills in a senior boys’ basketball benefit game.
All 13 players who suited up for the Hurricane played in both halves, and no one played more than 21 minutes.
Mills led 21-19 at halftime before Jonesboro dominated the second half in a meeting of 2021 state champions. The Hurricane led 62-38 at the end of the third quarter.
Jonesboro’s Devarius Montgomery scored 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting and also grabbed eight rebounds. Amarion Wilson was 6-of-6 at the free throw line in adding 12 points, three assists and two rebounds.
Deion Buford-Wesson added 10 points and four assists; Phillip Tillman finished with eight points, five steals and three assists; Jesse Washington, who has had one practice since the end of football season, contributed six points, seven rebounds and two assists in 17 minutes; and Isaac Harrell added five points and three rebounds.
Jonesboro opens the season Dec. 2 against Manila in the 36th annual Barry Pruitt Hurricane Classic.
Mills is scheduled to host Forrest City in a 4A-5 conference doubleheader on Jan. 14. Manila controlled the final three quarters Monday night to defeat Bay 64-39 in senior boys’ basketball.
After trailing 15-12 to end the first quarter, the Lions outscored the Yellowjackets 188 in the second to lead 30-23 at halftime. Manila boosted its lead to 48-31 at the end of the third quarter.
Brayden Nunnally scored 18 points to lead the Lions (1-1). Jake Baltimore added 15 points and Luke Kirk finished with 12 for Manila.
Justin Brannen led Bay with 14 points. Six players scored in double figures as Sloan-Hendrix improved to 8-1 in senior boys’ basketball Monday night with a 90-34 victory over Cross County.
Braden Cox scored 26 points and added six steals to lead the Greyhounds. Ethan Lee had a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds. Cade Grisham, Harper Rorex, Ethan Pickett and Luke Murphy added 10 points each.