Down two of its regular starters, Southeast Arkansas College needed some time to organize a big comeback in its first basketball game in 23 days — and first as a nationally ranked team.
Nettleton High graduate Israel Malone, who went without a field goal in the first half, keyed the Sharks’ second-half rally with 12 of his 15 points and Jalen Brown scored a game-high 26 points in a 77-62 victory over Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas on Monday at H.O. Clemmons Arena.
“I felt good,” said Brown, of Memphis. “It was a nice dub (W for win) off the break. It was everybody’s first game, so they had to catch up with their wins. I had to step up and make big plays in the first half so my team could come back at the end of the game.”
No. 24 SEARK (11-2) played without swingman Derek Magwood, the team’s leading scorer, who was resting an unspecified injury, according to coach Chad Kline. Sophomore forward Jehu Wright had to settle for a later flight to Pine Bluff from his mother’s home in the Bahamas, but both players are expected to suit up for Thursday’s Region 2 home game against Southern Arkansas University Tech.
Most NJCAA Division II teams like SEARK took lengthy breaks for the holidays, so the Sharks hadn’t played since a Dec. 14 win at Coahoma Community College. Phillips (3-11), which will officially join Region 2 next season, led 40-34 at halftime and built that margin up to 48-36 with 17:17 remaining.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
That’s when Malone took over.
The 6-foot-3 guard attacked the basket for his first 5 field goals to spark SEARK’s 26-4 comeback from which the Ridge Runners would not recover. Phillips made just one field goal during the run.
“I just started off slow the first half,” Malone said. “My teammates kept me going. They just told me to keep doing what I do, and I’ll contribute the second half.”
Phillips, which lost to SEARK 83-71 Nov. 7 in Helena-West Helena, did not make a 3-point shot in the second half after connecting on four from the arc. SEARK made six treys — two each by Torrey Caswell (10 points), Tobias Prall (8 points) and Brown.
Phillips led for 18.5 minutes of the first half, building a 40-30 lead before Caswell’s dunk and Brown’s layup off Ridge Runner turnovers narrowed the gap.
“I thought how we got going was our defense in the second half,” Kline said. “We had a bunch of guys step up and make plays defensively. When we get stops, we can get out and run and we get a lot of easies. I feel like we held them to one shot every time in the second half. I think that made the difference in the game, especially when we got down 12 in the second half. I thought we might be in trouble, but our guys are tough and resilient. As long as there’s time on the clock, we’re not going to quit. I can promise you that.”
The Sharks will host SAU Tech for a 3:30 p.m. tipoff Thursday, following the 1:30 p.m. women’s game.