MORRILTON – Despite leading three times in the first quarter Wednesday afternoon, a first-round date with the reigning state champion was too much for Watson Chapel.
Mills defeated Watson Chapel 63-28 in the opening round of the Class 4A boys basketball state tournament at Devil Dog Arena.
Watson Chapel Coach Jevon Barnes said the Wildcats started well, but their youth showed afterward.
“I was thinking with a good start like that, we would be OK,” Barnes said. “I was proud of the way we started, but then I was disappointed, because we started getting away from the things, the game plan we had set to keep us in the game.”
Region 4 No. 4-seed Watson Chapel (14-18) scored first with a three-pointer from sophomore Micah Horton. Fellow sophomore Gabriel Hood later hit a go-ahead shot to give the Wildcats an 8-7 lead.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
After the Comets tied the game at 8, Hood drew a three-point shooting foul with 3:27 remaining in the first quarter and hit two free throws to give Watson Chapel a 10-8 edge.
Region 3 champion Mills (22-10) responded by finishing the first quarter and starting the second on a 17-0 run. After sophomore Maddox Parker tied the game, junior Trae Rhodes hit two free throws with 2:44 remaining in the first to give Mills the lead for good.
The Comets went on to lead 21-10 at the end of the first and continued the run into the second to lead 26-10 before Watson Chapel junior Haywood King ended the scoring drought with 5:33 remaining in the half.
The Wildcats kept the deficit where it was for most of the rest of the quarter, but Rhodes scored easy layups off back-to-back steals to end the second and send Mills into halftime ahead 37-16.
Barnes said the Comets’ defensive pressure allowed them to pull away.
“They try to speed you up, and they started speeding us up,” Barnes said. “They’re real handsy. Like I said, our youth started showing, and starting having too many turnovers.”
Mills outscored the Wildcats 18-6 in the third quarter, with White Hall transfer AJ McCray beating the buzzer with a three-pointer. The clock ran in the fourth quarter as Mills outscored Watson Chapel 8-6.
The Comets finished second in Conference 4A-5 South behind Little Rock Hall but won their regional tournament to enter the state tournament as a top-seeded team.
Watson Chapel came into this season having had to replace the core that led the Wildcats the past few seasons. This year’s roster featured one senior and three juniors, with the rest being sophomores.
Despite the Wildcats’ youth, they finished second in Conference 4A-8 and defeated Arkadelphia at regionals to book their first trip to state in three years.
Barnes said this team reaching the state tournament was something not many on the outside predicted, especially after the Wildcats took some heat for pulling out of this season’s King Cotton Holiday Classic.
“I had a bigger picture, and I knew what this group could do,” Barnes said. “It was my job as the head coach to do exactly what we did. You have a group young like that, sometimes you have to cover them, so you can still mold them to be in positions like this. At the end of the day, we was the only team in Jefferson County that made it. … I have plans to be in Hot Springs real soon with this group. So, I’m proud that they got a taste of it.”
Watson Chapel was the only Jefferson County school to get its boys’ team to state. The White Hall girls made their first trip to state since 2014 on Wednesday but lost 65-35 to Vilonia in the Class 5A tournament in Farmington.