LITTLE ROCK — In a scintillating battle, Treylon Payne and Camren Hunter took turns putting the Bryant Hornets on their backs, sparking them against the Little Rock Parkview Patriots on Friday night in the semifinals of the Jammin’ For Jackets tournament at Little Rock Hall.
They combined for 55 points to help offset a 36-point night by Parkview’s Ryan Gordon as the Hornets advanced to the championship game of the tourney with an 83-70 victory.
Bryant, now 6-1 on the season, will take on the Mills University Comets of Little Rock on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
As best as can be remembered or documents, Friday’s win over Parkview was a first for a Bryant Hornets team. And it was the most points a Hornets’ team has scored since getting 85 in a win over Greenbrier on Nov. 29, 2016.
They broke out to an 11-2 lead and eventually held as much as a 22-point advantage in the first half as Payne scored 23 of his 30 points. In the second half, Parkview, with aggressive defensive work, whittled that healthy margin down to 2, 47-45, with under 12 minutes left in the game.
But the Hornets never relinquished the lead. The Patriots just could not stop Hunter as he drove to the basket resulting in 18 of his 25 points down the stretch. He had four and-ones off those drives. He was 9 of 12 from the line in the game.
“I knew they’d fight back,” said Hornets coach Mike Abrahamson. “I don’t know that our kids believed me when I said that. Sometimes they have to see things for themselves before they believe it.
“Look, that’s a championship program over there,” he said regarding the Patriots, who are now coached by former Arkansas Razorback Scotty Thurman. “They’re not laying down. They played like that. They fought back like a championship program. Credit to them for that.
“But I’m really proud of our guys for withstanding their push and their runs,” he asserted. “To come back at them, yes, shows some maturity. And we kind of had to adjust to some things on the fly. They were coming at us so aggressively. Withstanding all that is something I’m really proud of for our team.”
The Hornets benefited from the return of their football players, particularly 6’6” post Catrell Wallace who finished with 7 points, seven rebounds and seven blocked shots, plus a steal. Robinson and O.J. Newburn came through with 6 points each, all in the clutch during the second half.
But Hunter and Payne were phenomenal.
“They both really played well, especially in their respective halves that they kind of carried us,” Abrahamson acknowledged. “That’s nice to have, that we’re not a one-man show. At the same time, nobody else is jealous of them. Everybody else celebrates them doing that. That’s their role on the team when that time comes.
“Cam taking the ball to the basket and getting so many and-ones and making free throws,” he added. “What Treylon did the first half, shooting the ball, getting some steals was just great.”
Payne finished with seven rebounds and four steals. Hunter had four boards and eight assists to go with a steal.
“But then we had other guys step up too, like Catrell who played great for us in only his second game,” Abrahamson said. “He hasn’t even been back a full week yet and he showed his value. I could go on and on. People like Khason Robinson stand out to me. Aiden Adams had a great first half and O.J. comes in in the second half and gives us very solid minutes. That was great for him.”
Abrahamson played his role as well. In the second half, he had his team switch from man-to-man defense to a 1-3-1 zone with traps. For one thing, it slowed the Patriots down and, for another, it limited Gordon’s touches.
“It wasn’t necessarily him as much as it was just trying to adjust the flow of the game, trying to disrupt the flow that they had created,” Abrahamson explained. “It was taking a chance because our football guys, we haven’t had a chance to work on that. It was just kind of on the fly. Our guys responded.”
To start the game, Gavin Brunson scored off a drive-and-dish by Hunter. Payne followed up with the first of his five 3’s. Wallace added a basket on a jump hook to make it 7-0 resulting a Parkview timeout.
Gordon broke the ice for the Patriots, but Hunter fed Brunson again for a layup. Parkview turned it over, but Adams was cited for an illegal screen. He made up for it, however, as he drew charges on back-to-back Parkview possessions.
Payne drove for a basket to make it 11-2.
The Pats cut the margin to 5 but a layup by Hunter off a feed from Jenkins got the Hornets rolling again. The teams started to trade baskets, but Bryant’s buckets were consecutive 3’s by Payne. Later, a conventional three-point play by Payne pushed the margin to 26-10.
At the other end, Wallace blocked three different shots by the Patriots’ Carson Backus. The Hornets eventually got a run out and Payne hit the layup.
After a Parkview timeout, Payne made a steal and scored. Hunter made a steal and hit a free throw to extend the lead to 31-10.
Parkview’s Cameron Wallace countered with a free throw but when Hunter fed Will Diggins for a basket with 6:16 left in the half, the Hornets’ lead was 33-11.
Spurred by Gordon, the Patriots rallied and had the margin down to 41-34 at the half.
Gordon had a pair of three-point plays and a tip-in during the surge to nearly wiping out Bryant’s lead. It was 47-45 and the Hornets needed a basket. Hunter came through with a drive to the rack that produced a three-point play.
Keylon Harris missed on a 3-point try for the Patriots and Catrell Wallace took a feed from Robinson, resulted in a three-point play.
After Gordon scored off the offensive glass, Robinson came through with a triple. Parkview’s Christian Winkler answered in kind only to have Payne rip a 3 to make it 59-50.
Gordon answered with a driving jumper and, off a Bryant turnover, Cameron Wallace came away with a dunk that had the margin down to 59-54.
But, again, Hunter came through with a three-point play as Parkview, using as many as three different defenders to try to slow him down. He kept beating them.
With 5:57 left to play, Winkler hit a 3 to keep his team within 66-59. Hunter attacked the rack for yet another three-point play.
Gordon and Cameron Wallace managed to keep their team within 71-63 going into the final four minutes. But Newburn came through with a pair of free throws
Winkler missed a 3 and Robinson hit one. Suddenly, the Bryant lead was back to double-digits.
HORNETS 83, PATRIOTS 70
Score by halves
BRYANT 41 42 — 83
LR Parkview 34 36 — 70
HORNETS (6-1) 83
Hunter 8-12 9-12 25, Payne 11-15 3-3 30, Adams 0-1 0-0 0, Brunson 2-4 0-0 4, Cat.Wallace 2-3 3-3 7, Jenkins 1-3 0-0 2, Robinson 2-5 0-0 6, Pitts 0-1 0-2 0, Diggins 1-2 1-2 3, O.Newburn 1-2 4-4 6, L.Newburn 0-0 0-0 0, Schroeder 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-49 (57%) 20-26 (77%) 83.
PATRIOTS (3-4) 70
White 0-1 0-0 0, Harris 3-9 3-5 10, Winkler 4-11 0-3 10, Gordon 12-18 12-17 36, Cam.Wallace 2-8 4-6 8, Littrell 0-0 0-0 0, Presley 1-1 0-0 2, Young 1-5 2-2 4, Backus 0-3 0-0 0, Slay 0-0 0-0 0, Miller 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-57 (40%) 21-33 (64%) 70.
Three-point field goals: Bryant 7-14 (Payne 5-8, Robinson 2-4, Hunter 0-1, Adams 0-1), LR Parkview 3-18 (Winkler 2-6, Harris 1-5, Young 0-3, Gordon 0-2, Cam.Wallace 0-1, Miller 0-1). Turnovers: Bryant 20, LR Parkview 17. Rebounds: Bryant 3-28 31 (Payne 0-7 7, Cat.Wallace 2-5 7, Robinson 0-7 7, Hunter 1-3 4, Diggins 0-3 3, O.Newburn 0-1 1, Schroeder 0-1 1, team 0-1 1), LR Parkview 13-23 36 (Cam.Wallace 5-7 12, Gordon 5-6 11, Harris 2-4 6, Winkler 0-2 2, Young 0-2 2, Littrell 0-1 1, team 1-1 2). Team fouls: Bryant 26, LR Parkview 22. Technical foul: Bryant, Schroeder.
