The first game in the King Cotton Holiday Classic championship bracket went down to the wire between two out-of-state teams on Saturday.
St. Michael’s Catholic out of Austin, Texas, held off Windermere (Fla.) Prep 75-73 to advance to Monday’s semifinals at the Pine Bluff Convention Center.
St. Mike’s led the entire second half but never put Windermere Prep away. The Lakers clawed back over the final 2 minutes and had the ball with 9 seconds remaining down by two points. Out of a timeout, the Warriors’ solid defense forced Windermere Prep into a contested corner three-pointer that fell short as St. Mike’s celebrated.
Windermere Prep led 19-11 after the first quarter and grew that lead to 22-13 early in the second before St. Mike’s went on a 10-0 run to take the lead. Florida State signee Brandon Bass Jr. hit a three to briefly restore the Lakers’ lead, but St. Mike’s sophomore Narayan Varma answered in kind with 4:12 remaining in the half.
The Lakers tied the game twice in the third quarter but never led again. Will Gasink made two free throws with 3.9 seconds remaining in the quarter to send St. Mike’s into the fourth with a 61-59 lead. Three Warriors then combined to start the fourth on a 7-0 run.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Varma led St. Mike’s with 22 points after making 6 of 7 from three-point range. The Warriors as a team made 10 of 20 from beyond the arc. Sunvith Junkal added 19 points, while Gasink finished with 11 points and eight assists.
Bass, the son of former NBA and LSU player Brandon Bass, scored a game-high 35 points with eight rebounds and five assists. Claudius Burrows added 17 points for Windermere Prep.
Inglewood, Calif., 74, Benton 66
Defending 5A state champion Benton did not make it easy for Jason Crowe Jr. to score his game-high 34 points.
Crowe, California’s all-time leading scorer, was held to nine points at halftime, but he broke out of a 4-for-12 slump by hitting 7 of his next 11 and finishing the game 12 for 14 at the foul line. He needs just nine points to reach 4,000 for his career.
Inglewood led 38-34 at halftime after leading by as many as nine points in the first quarter. Benton, which shot almost 60% in the second and third quarters, turned the game around and had a six-point lead late in the third, only for Crowe to take over.
David Conerly scored 15 points, while Andre Nickerson and Matthew Martinez each scored 10 for the Sentinels, from near Los Angeles.
Jacobi Lea led Benton with 21 points and eight rebounds. Anthony Spratt Jr. added 16 points and nine rebounds, Brian Cal Jr. 13 points and Javarious Russell 11 points.
Inglewood will play St. Michael’s Catholic in the semifinal round Monday evening.
St. Joseph (Calif.) 83, Bryant 53
A pair of brothers powered St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.) to a dominant win against Bryant in the first round.
Senior Julius Price scored 23 points while younger brother Malcolm Price added 21 to lead the Knights into the semifinals. Bryant senior RJ Young led the Hornets with 19 points, while Terrance Cochran added 15.
St. Joseph opened the game on a 10-0 run before Young got Bryant on the board. The Knights went on to lead 24-9 after the first quarter. Both teams scored 18 points in the second as the Hornets grew into the game. Bryant shot 63.6% from the field in the second quarter after shooting just 16.7% in the first.
The Hornets started the second half well and cut the deficit to 10 points before the Knights pulled away for good. St. Joseph led 72-39 after the third quarter, and the fourth was played with a running clock.
Information for this article was contributed by senior reporter I.C. Murrell of the Commercial.
