By Rob Patrick
Photos by Rick Nation
Hunter Holder pumped in four 3-pointers in the first five minutes of the second quarter to spark the Bryant Hornets freshman team on an eye-popping run that turned a 7-3 deficit at the end of the first quarter[more] into a 19-7 lead at halftime.
The Hornets kept it going in the second half and before the Little Rock J.A. Fair War Eagles could score again, it was 40-7.
That’s a 37-0 run.
Everyone played as the Hornets finished off a 44-10 win at the Bryant Middle School gym as part of the first round of games in the Bryant Invitational Tournament. The Hornets return to action tonight at 6:40 against Pulaski Academy, which defeated Lake Hamilton on Monday.
The team includes Phillip Barnett, Dakota Besancon, Chase Christie, Brandon Cranford, Cedarrian Crosby, Evan Davis, Trevor Ezell, Greyson Giles, T.J. Hall, Austin Hammonds, Hunter Holder, Matt Jernigan, Spencer Kilgore, Slade Lewis, Madre London, Dylan Masters, Davis Nossaman, Gray Orman, Garrett Phillips, C.J. Rainey, Brian Reed, Mitchell Scoggins, Caleb Strain and Christian Washington.
Despite the fact that they had just six players, the War Eagles jumped out to a 5-0 lead and, after a basket and a free throw by London got the Hornets on the board, Tony Gilkey hit a driving jumper to make it 7-3 with 1:39 left in the first period.
Fair didn’t score again until hitting a 3-pointer with 4:03 left in the game.
Holder opened the second-quarter scoring with his first bomb. Moments later, Crosby made a steal and drove for a layup to give the Hornets their first lead with 4:05 left in the half.
Holder’s barrage commenced with 3:07 left in the half. Following his second triple, Bryant forced a turnover and, wisely, Holder’s teammates fed him the ball. His third try was from more or less the same spot on the right wing. Crosby swiped the ball again and this time the Fair defense made Holder take a dribble to avoid a block attempt. But he drained the rainbow anyway to make it 17-7 with 2:02 left in the half.
Crosby’s stickback with 1:06 left gave Bryant its halftime margin.
The 12 points Holder pumped in during that outburst provided a game-high 12 points. London finished with 8. Christie matched Crosby’s 6 as nine of the 19 Hornets that played contributed to the scoring.
Christie scored all 6 of his points and London added 5 of his in the third quarter when, as a team, the Hornets knocked down 9 of 11 shots from the floor. Christie’s bucket inside with 3:36 left in the quarter made it a 20-point lead, 27-7. He then fed Scoggins for a jumper and Rainey dished to Nossaman for layup to make it 31-7 before London took over inside for 5 straight points.
Hall’s basket to start the fourth quarter completed the 37-0 run. After Fair finally broke through, Jernigan pitched in with the final two baskets for Bryant.
JUNIOR HORNETS 44, JUNIOR WAR EAGLES 10
Score by quarters
LR J.A. Fair 7 0 0 3 — 10
BRYANT 3 16 19 6 — 44
WAR EAGLES (10)
T.Gilkey 2-17 0-0 5, A.Gilkey 2-7 0-0 5, Lamb 0-1 0-0 0, Campbell 0-3 0-1 0, Sanders 0-1 0-0 0, Murdock 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 4-29 0-1 10.
HORNETS 44
Rainey 1-4 0-0 2, Strain 0-0 0-0 0, Giles 0-1 0-0 0, Scoggiins 1-4 0-0 2, London 3-5 2-6 8, Christie 3-4 0-0 6, Ezell 0-1 0-0 0, Orman 0-1 0-0 0, Crosby 3-4 0-0 6, Holder 4-6 0-0 12, Nossaman 1-1 0-0 2, Besancon 0-2 0-0 0, Kilgore 0-1 0-0 0, Jernigan 2-2 0-0 4, Hall 1-3 0-0 2, Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Masters 0-1 0-0 0, Barnett 0-0 0-0 0, Lewis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-40 2-6 44.
Three-point field goals: BRYANT 4-9 (Holder 4-5, Rainey 0-1, Giles 0-1, Masters 0-1), LR J.A. FAIR 2-15 (T.Gilkey 1-12, A.Gilkey 1-3). Rebounds: BRYANT 25 (Christie, Giles, London, Crosby 3), LR J.A. FAIR 18 (Campbell 7). Turnovers: BRYANT 2, LR J.A. FAIR 14. Team fouls: BRYANT 4, LR J.A. FAIR 6.
