CAC shuts down Lighthouse
Central Arkansas Christian bent a bit during Wednesday’s rubber match with Jacksonville Lighthouse, but the Mustangs weren’t interested in breaking.
Andrew Haughaboo scored 16 of his game-high 25 points in the second half to lift CAC to a tough 55-45 victory over the Wolves during the semifinals of the 3A-6 Conference tournament at Episcopal Collegiate’s Wildcat Gymnasium.
Five different players scored at least five points for CAC (18-5), and the Mustangs needed every one of them to hold off a hard-charging Lighthouse group that had beaten them the last time they met.
“Man, Coach [Kelvin] Parker does a great job with those kids,” said CAC Coach Matt Hall, whose team beat the Wolves 49-43 on Jan. 4 before losing the rematch 4946 three weeks later. “We’ve played them at least twice a year for the last three years, and we know each other really well. It’s a good friendly rivalry, and it’s always a competitive game.
“It’s fun when we get together, and we knew exactly what we were gonna get out of them. But my guys stayed with it throughout, especially there in the second half when they made their run.”
The Mustangs, who’ll play Episcopal Collegiate at 7:30 p.m. today in the title game, made their move in the first half. After sinking into a quick 9-1 hole over the game’s first two minutes, CAC rebounded to take a 13-12 lead into the second quarter, where it ripped off 13 of the period’s first 15 points. Hendrix Jones scored 10 of his 13 first-half points during the last four minutes to get Lighthouse (1614) within 29-25 by halftime.
Lighthouse went on an 8-2 run immediately after the break and took a 33-31 lead on Jones’ two free throws with 2:02 remaining. Tyler Williams tied it for CAC on the next possession with a basket inside, but a block by Grayson Wilson on the other end led to a three-pointer from Haughaboo that sparked CAC.
“Our strength is being as aggressive as we can, and we’ve got several guys that can really shoot the ball,” Hall explained. “Andrew hit that huge one after they tied it, and I don’t think it was ever closer than three points after that.”
The Mustangs led 38-33 at the start of the fourth until Haughaboo scored nine points during a crushing 15-4 rally to break it open.
Wilson had nine points, and both Steven Massey and Sam Maddox added seven points for CAC. Jones led Lighthouse with 18 points.
EPISCOPAL COLLEGIATE 72, HELENA-WEST HELENA 36
Kellen Robinson had 20 of his 30 points in the first half for Episcopal Collegiate (18-7), which extended its winning streak to 13 games while beating the Cougars for the third time this season.
The freshman guard added eight steals and six rebounds for the Wildcats, who used a 9-0 run in the second quarter to take a 39-24 lead into and created a 15-0 in the third quarter to eventually start a running clock.
Elijah Mason scored 15 points and Keeton Dassinger ended with seven points for Episcopal Collegiate. Samari Henry had 11 points to lead Helena-West Helena (14-9).
GIRLS
CAC 59, HELENA-WEST HELENA 33
Riley Bryant finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds as Central Arkansas Christian (21-7) pulled away in the second half to advance to the final.
Ava Knoedl added 18 points and Livian Burton finished with 7 points and 15 rebounds and 3 blocks for the Lady Mustangs, who led 27-17 at the half but sprinted out on a 12-4 run at the start of the third to build a bigger lead. CAC would later end the quarter on a 9-2 spurt to take a comfortable 48-23 lead into the final period.
Kassidy Truitt had 11 points and 13 rebounds, while Katelyn Donaldson had 7 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals for Helena-West Helena (18-9). Mikayla Harrell also scored seven points for the Lady Cougars. EPISCOPAL COLLEGIATE 66, DEWITT 20
Ashauni Corley led all scorers with 26 points as Episcopal Collegiate (205) breezed.
Riley Brady scored 12 points, Avery Marsh added 11 and Jalie Tritt contributed 8 for the Lady Wildcats, who forced 28 turnovers and shot 26 of 46 (56.5%) for the game.
Adryan Cox had nine points to lead DeWitt (16-10), which was 8-of-20 (40%) shooting. The Lady Dragons went 2 of 8 after halftime.