After taking White Hall to the past three King Cotton Holiday Classics, former coach Josh Hayes returned victoriously with a new team Friday.
Hot Springs defeated Xavier Academy from Houston 75-70 in the Creed Showcase division at the Pine Bluff Convention Center.
Hayes said after some of the tough losses his White Hall teams had at King Cotton (White Hall won once in the tournament in 2022), it felt great to start with a win for Hot Springs.
“It’s huge for us, because we were 5-1 in our last six games,” Hayes said. “Losing our last game to Conway, and really playing uncharacteristic, but to bounce back like this tonight and click on all cylinders, and also get stops against a bigger team, it just kinda shows how good we can be and where we’re trying to be in another month.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The Trojans (8-5) lived at the free throw line in the second half and made the Falcons (5-1) pay for their fouls. Hot Springs made 20 of 22 from the line after halftime, including making all 10 shots in the third quarter.
LaBraun Christon made 9 of 14 from the line in the game. Hayes’ son, Jai’Chaunn, made 8 of 9, while Jaeir Hardwell made all 8 of his attempts.
Hayes said the Trojans set out to get Xavier’s bigger post players in foul trouble.
“That right there is pretty much the game in itself,” Hayes said. “If we can make free throws and neutralize teams like that, even when they made a run, we got them in foul trouble. So, we’re shooting free throws, and it just helps us extend that lead, to keep that lead, even when they had the momentum.”
That trio scored the bulk of Hot Springs’ points. Christon and Jai’Chaunn Hayes scored 22 points apiece, while Hardwell scored 20.
Jackson Seastrunk led Xavier with 20 points. Dedrick Miles scored 15, while Montana Wheeler finished with 14.
Hot Springs led by as much as 10 in the fourth quarter before the Falcons cut it to 1. After a game which featured 10 lead changes, the Trojans didn’t give up the lead in the end and got stops to see it out.
Holy Innocents’ 54, Springdale Har-Ber 50
In the last Creed Showcase game of the day, heavily recruited Caleb Wilson totaled 18 points and 12 points, helping Atlanta’s Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School weather a second-half comeback from Har-Ber to pick up the win.
Holy Innocents’ (10-2) led 43-29 with 2:37 left in the third quarter before Har-Ber’s Hayden Wood scored Har-Ber’s next 10 points, pulling the Wildcats (3-6) within 45-39 at quarter’s end. Wood finished with 13 points and 7 rebounds.
The videoboard array malfunctioned for most of the game, as was the case most of the day, and the score had to be announced over the public address. The game and shot clocks behind each backboard were functional.
Still, Har-Ber crept to within 51-50 after a Courtland Muldrew 3-pointer with 2:13 to go. Devin Hutcherson made 3 of 4 free throws down the stretch for the Golden Bears, keeping the Wildcats at bay.
Hutcherson finished with 17 points, making 7 of 12 from the floor. Muldrew led the Wildcats with 16 points and 6 rebounds, and Jabarih Washington had 11 points and 6 rebounds.
Holy Innocents’ led 32-24 at halftime.
Germantown 65, LR Hall 46
Germantown (Gluckstadt, Miss.) used its height advantage to take down Little Rock Hall 65-46 in the King Cotton opener as part of the Creed Showcase.
The Warriors (8-4) had trouble at times shooting over the taller Mavericks, especially 6-foot-10 junior Sam Funches IV. Germantown outrebounded Hall 38-25, led by junior Mason Williams’ 11 boards. Four others had at least four, including Funches.
The Mavericks (12-3) pulled ahead 19-9 in the first quarter and kept the Warriors at bay the rest of the game. Germantown got to the free throw line with ease in the second half, including a pair of 3-point plays in the third quarter. The lead hovered around 20 points for most of the fourth quarter.
Williams led the Mavericks with 20 points for a double-double, followed by Funches with 16 points and four rebounds. Mike Williams scored 12 points and six rebounds.
Dalton Palmer led Hall with 19 points.
Caleb Wilson (30) of Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School (Atlanta) spins away from Jabarih Washington (15) and Courtland Muldrew (3) of Springdale Har-Ber in the second quarter of a King Cotton Holiday Classic game Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)
Mason Williams of Germantown (Gluckstadt, Miss.) tries to drive past Landen Hill of Little Rock Hall in the second quarter Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, of a King Cotton Holiday Classic game. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)