TITANS SURVIVE TIGERS’ RALLY

Jacksonville did not play well down the stretch, but still managed to get a win on Monday in the Titan Classic. The Titans almost blew a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter. Though Little Rock Central outscored Jacksonville 13-2 over the last four and a half minutes, the Titans held on for a 54-52 victory. Jacksonville coach Vic Joyner, who was on the bench after missing several games with an emergency colon surgery, didn’t just feel fortunate his team got a win. “Man, I feel fortunate to be alive,” Joyner said. “This kind of thing changes your perspective. I know this means a lot to these kids and this school and this community. I’m never going to downplay that, and I’m going to work hard to help them be successful. “But I’m not mad at these kids for almost letting that one slip away. I’m not mad at them because they play hard for each other and they give their best effort. Experience is all it is. We don’t have any guards with any varsity experience. We took quick shots when we should’ve slowed it down. We turned it over. We missed layups. When they get more experienced in these situations, they’ll get more comfortable and they won’t make those mistakes.” The Tigers dominated the first few and last few minutes of the game, but Jacksonville controlled the rest of the action. Central couldn’t miss early, making its first four shots of the game. Three were under heavy defensive pressure, and the fourth was a 25-foot 3-pointer. But Jacksonville, which two-platooned every four minutes, came back. Right before the first unit yielded to the second, senior guard Braylon Hawkins hit back-to-back 3-pointers. Right after the second unit checked in, senior guard Caleb Kendrick hit two more, and Jacksonville took a 16-13 lead into the second period. The two teams traded baskets on their first possessions of the second period, but then became mired in a long scoring drought. After both teams scored in the first 15 seconds of the period, neither team scored again until Kendrick made two free throws after a steal with 3:36 left in the half. That gave the Titans a 20-15 lead, but Central reeled off five points in a row to tie the game again. Christian White made a post move towards the baseline with 1:30 left. Kendrick then got another steal, and then penetrated to create an opening for a dunk by White that made it 24-20 with 55 seconds to go in the half. With Jacksonville leading 25-22, Jacksonville fouled Central 60 feet from the goal with 10 seconds left, but the Tigers missed both free throws. Kendrick then sank his third 3-pointer of the half at the buzzer to send the Titans into the locker room with a 28-22 lead. Jacksonville pushed the lead to 10 early in the third period, but Central quickly cut it back to one at 34-33. Jacksonville then went on a 9-0 run, sparked by a pair of five-second violations caused by senior Titan Jabril Smith’s on-ball defense. Kendrick also closed that run with a 3-pointer that put the Titans up 43-33 with 1:19 to go in the third period. The lead grew to its largest at 52-39 with 4:53 to go, but Jacksonville (5-4) would only score two more points the rest of the way. After going up 13, Jacksonville’s next four possessions lasted less than 10 seconds after crossing midcourt, and eight-straight possessions were scoreless. But the defense remained tough and the Titans crashed the boards hard. White missed a point-blank layup. R.J. Maxwell got the rebound and missed another one from right in front of the rim, but Joe Phillips was there for a third putback that went in and gave the Titans a 54-46 lead with 1:15 left in the game. Joyner had begun to mix up the lineup in the fourth quarter, but after a free throw by Central’s A.J. Williams, he put in a five new players with 1:09 to go. Another Titan turnover was followed by another foul with 34 seconds left. This time Williams made both to make the score 54-49. Central fouled Mike Terry, who missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Central’s J. Jackson hit a 3-pointer with 16 seconds to go. Central then fouled Hawkins, who also missed the front end of a one-and-one with 12 seconds on the clock, but Central lost the rebound out of bounds. Joyner called timeout and drew up an inbounds play that got White an uncontested layup, but he missed it. This time Maxwell got two offensive rebounds, but missed both tip-in attempts. Jackson finally got the ball for Central, who had no timeouts left, and dished to Williams. He dribbled the length of the court and took a 3-point shot at the buzzer than revolved all the way around the rim before flying out to preserve the Titan victory. Kendrick led Jacksonville with 14 points while White and Hawkins added 10 apiece. Jackson and Williams each had 15 for Central (3-7). That win followed a 57-47 win over Little Rock McClellan on Friday. That was a one-point game until Jacksonville outscored McClellan 24-15 in the fourth quarter. Phillips led the Titans in that win with 16 points. Jordan Maxwell posted 14, including eight in the fourth period. Hawkins contributed 11. Jacksonville’s next game will be against Bryant at 7 p.m. next Wednesday in the Coke Classic at UA-Fort Smith.

Little Rock School District Athletics

TITANS SURVIVE TIGERS’ RALLY

Photo Credit: Central Athletics