The boys' and girls' teams of Sylvan Hills will face a pair of Little Rock opponents today in the finals of the Chartwells Spa City Shootout at Bank of the Ozarks Arena.
The girls' final will tip at 4 p.m. between Pulaski Academy (7-5) and Sylvan Hills (6-5). The boys' final will follow at 5:30 p.m. with Little Rock Mills (9-2) facing the Bears (6-6).
The Lady Bruins punched their ticket first in an afternoon matchup with Mount St. Mary (1-10). They led 23-12 after the first quarter and 37-25 at halftime but were outscored 14-8 in the third frame. The Belles narrowed the margin to two points multiple times in the fourth quarter, but they were never able to get level.
Junior guard Mattie Hatcher led all scorers with 23 points. The Lady Bruins got 14 points and five assists from sophomore Isis Woods.
Mount St. Mary was led by senior Payton Grice's 20 points. Sophomore Catherine Althoff led the team in rebounds with 11.
Lakeside (9-3) trailed 50-46 to Sylvan Hills with less than a minute to play in the other semifinal Thursday, but the Lady Bears held on for a 54-47 win.
Mills fended off a semifinal challenge from Benton (13-3) in the first boys' semifinal. The Comets led 12-8 after the first quarter, but a 12-point quarter by senior guard Jai Peters helped the Panthers knot the game at 25-25 by halftime. Mills took control of the game again in the third to lead 39-35 heading into the fourth quarter.
The game was still level at 41-41 with 3:50 left to play before Peters fouled out with 14 points. Senior Evan Sims added 13 for the Panthers.
The Comets held on for a 52-43 win and were led by junior Branton McCrary's 19 points. Senior Grehlon Easter had two points until late in the third quarter when he finished a fast break with a two-handed slam. He finished the game with eight points.
The final game on Thursday, Sylvan Hills against Greenwood (5-7), ended with a controversial foul call. Greenwood senior Ronin Stewart was called for a foul as Sylvan Hills freshman Jalen Ricks attempted a 3-point shot to break a 60-60 tie as the buzzer sounded.
The referees determined half of a second remained on the clock, and Ricks made all three free throws to make the score 63-60. The Bulldogs attempted a full-court pass, but they could not convert on the play.
The Bears led throughout the game, with a 17-12 margin after the first quarter, 27-26 at halftime and 43-42 after three quarters. Greenwood won 69-64 at home on Dec. 6 in a previous matchup between the two teams.
The Bulldogs were led in scoring by senior Jordan Sheppard with 20 points, including 10-for-12 on free throws. Senior post Easton Barrett finished with 13 points.
Sylvan Hills was led by the freshman Ricks with 17 points. Another freshman, point guard Caleb Campbell, scored 16 points.
Sports on 12/29/2017