By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Sylvan Hills pulled off an upset Friday night, going to West Memphis and coming home with a 53-48 victory to improve to 2-1 in league play.
The loss was the second at home for the Blue Devils in conference play, and drops them to 7-7 overall and 1-2 inside the AAAAA-East conference.
The Lady Bears weren’t as fortunate, losing 65-39 and giving the Lady Blue Devils their first conference victory.
Sylvan Hills rotated guards Victor Roy and Darrell Cren-shaw on West Memphis’ Jason Henry. The duo didn’t shut Henry down in the scoring department, but the strategy did hamper West Memphis’ ability to run the offense.
Roy and Crenshaw rotated every three minutes, and picked Henry up immediately wherever he was on the court.
Even when Henry threw the ball inbounds under Sylvan Hills’ goal, Roy or Crenshaw was there as soon as he stepped inbounds.
He still finished with 26 points to lead all scorers, but the rest of the team struggled with the Bears’ defense.
The Blue Devils also struggled with the Bears’ offense. Sylvan Hills didn’t make a three pointer the entire game, but they didn’t need them. The offensive execution created several layups, and the Bears were nailing mid-range jumpers throughout the game.
Senior guard Michael Gross led the Bears with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Junior post player T.J. Shelton came off the bench to turn in a solid game. He finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.
“We were really proud of T.J.” Bears assistant Wayne Herren said. “He got in there and got real physical and helped us out. He played well.”
The Lady Bears fell behind big early on, and never recovered. Too many turnovers was the key problem against West Memphis’ defense.
The Lady Bears are also now 1-2 in league play and 6-9 overall.
Sylvan Hills traveled to Searcy Tuesday night after Leader deadlines, and will host league-leading Jonesboro Friday.
