By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
White Hall proved no match for North Pulaski on Friday, as the Falcons routed the Bulldogs 79-48 to keep their 5A-Southeast Conference record unblemished.
Junior forward Kyron Ware scored a career-high 25 points, including 6 of 7 at the foul line. Most of those points came in the third quarter, as North Pulaski pulled away and extended a slim five-point advantage at halftime.
“I knew he was capable,” Falcons coach Ray Cooper said of Ware. “It didn’t surprise me one bit. He’s too unselfish at times, and while everyone else was struggling, he seemed to be the only one in rhythm. We talked to him at halftime about staying aggressive, and that’s what he did. He got on a roll and played great in the second half.”
North Pulaski used its speed and depth in the second half, along with its stifling full-court press, to wear down the Bulldogs. Aaron Cooper and point guard Joe Agee drew in the White Hall defense with drives to the basket to give room for Ware.
“Overall, it was a good game,” said Cooper. “We shot terrible in the first half. We were putting up too many threes and missing. We talked about penetrating more in the second half.
“We pressed most of the half, and their guards finally started getting tired and made some mistakes.”
Duquan Bryant added 18 points for North Pulaski. The Falcons are 15-5 overall and 6-0 in the 5A-Southeast Conference, tied for first with Little Rock McClellan. Both are two games ahead of third-place Beebe at 4-2. Mills sits in fourth at 3-3.
Cooper has some confidence in his team’s chances at winning the league title at this point, but still many reservations.
“It means that we know what we have to do,” Cooper said. “We’ve seen everyone with the exception of McClellan that we have to make a game up with, but there’s not going to be any surprises. We know our opponents and they know us – it’s just a matter of getting it finished.”
