By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Sylvan Hills boys won their second game of the Lake Hamilton Classic on Saturday, plowing through Class 1A powerhouse Kirby 67-40 to improve to 2-0 this season. The Trojans were 9-0 entering the Lake Hamilton Classic, but had not played anyone above Class 2A.
After falling to Pine Bluff by 10 in the first round at LHHS, the Bears invoked the mercy rule when they took a 30-point lead with about three minutes remaining.
“It was really one of those games that didn’t feel like a blowout,” said Sylvan Hills coach Kevin Davis. “We won every quarter, but we never really put a huge run on them where I thought we had put them away. Then you look up there late in the game and it’s a mercy rule.”
Sylvan Hills entered the fourth quarter leading 47-31, and the run came in the early portion of the fourth period. It was a stark contrast to the Bears’ first game, when they trailed Lake Hamilton by four points in the fourth, and came back to win 53-59.
“We’ve had two very different games and I thought we closed both of them out the way you want to,” Davis said. “So that’s a good sign.”
Senior Taleh Wade turned in an explosive offensive performance, dropping in 26 points to lead all scorers. Jacobe Davis and J.D. Smith scored 11 and 10 points respectively for the Bears.
“Taleh, I knew he could do that,” coach Davis said. “I kind of expected more from him in the first game when he only had four points. I thought that was a big disappointment based on how he plays in practice. I’m expecting him to be another scorer for us, so it was nice to see him get going.”
Though football players Jordan Washington and Omari Hervey have been with the team since the football Bears exited the playoffs on Nov. 12, Davis has yet to insert them into the lineup.
“We’re still looking forward to getting Jordan plugged back in there and seeing what Hervey can do,” Davis said. “Jordan has been basically a starter for us since he was a sophomore, so he’s going to be right back in there. Omari came out when I held a tryout for football players, but those are the only two from the (football) team that are sticking with us.”
The Bears hosted Morrilton on Tuesday. Look for details of that game in Saturday’s Leader. They will host the Beebe Badgers next Tuesday.
