By Jason King
Leader sportswriter
Lonoke answered two early runs by Little Rock Episcopal before the Wildcats rallied down the stretch for a 67-43 victory over the Jackrabbits on Wednesday in the consolation round of the Beebe Holiday Classic at Badger Sports Arena.
The Jackrabbits (3-7) led for the first three minutes before Episcopal, backed by an 18-point outing by guard/forward Jalen Lacey, took over and led the rest of the way.
Lacey added five rebounds and three steals as Episcopal forced 18 turnovers, 12 in the first half.
Episcopal held every Lonoke player to fewer than 10 points, although Darius Scott, Dra Offord and Tarrale Watson came close with eight each.
Episcopal went on an 11-0 run to go up 11-3 in the first quarter before Lonoke pulled within 13-12 at the end of the period.
The Wildcats led 26-19 with 3:49 left in the first half only to see Lonoke’s bench spark another run that tied it at 26 a minute later. But their 10-0 run to start the second half went unanswered, as the Jackrabbit offense scored just six points in the third.
“I don’t know if fatigue has something to do with it,” Lonoke coach Dean Campbell said. “You hate to use those as excuses. There was a poster in the locker room we were looking at yesterday that said, ‘When the legs go, the heart and mind soon follow,’ and it’s true.
“We kind of allowed that to happen. We gave them a little bit when we started to get tired.”
The Jackrabbits opened the tournament with a Tuesday loss to Star City, and the loss to Episcopal the next day relegated them to a seventh-place matchup against Warren on Thursday.
Offord checked into the game just past the midpoint of the first quarter and made a three-pointer with 2:28 left in the period to cut it to 11-6. He took an assist from Storm Beeler and made an inside basket to pull Lonoke within 11-8 and then got a halfcourt steal and made a layup to cut the deficit to one.
Episcopal’s fast attack made long possessions impossible, as Lacey opened the second quarter with a three-pointer with 7:10 left in the half and he made a pair of free throws on the Wildcats’ next possession to give them a 20-12 lead.
Rico Bryant made three free throws with 6:27 left in the first half and Brandon Russell cut it to 20-17 with a steal and layup.
Watson wrapped two baskets around a three pointer by Russell to tie the game at 26 with 2:33 left in the first half. Russell, Watson and Bryant, all reserves, scored all of Lonoke’s 14, second-quarter points.
“Some of the younger guys, after they get to sit there and watch how things are going and what they need to do, they have a little bit of an advantage because they know how the defense is playing,” Campbell said. Lacey ran the offense more than he looked to score for Episcopal in the second half. He passed to post player Jacob Rowell, who scored six of his 10 points in the third quarter. Jackson Rawling kept applying the pressure in the final period and scored six of his 10 points. Geoffery Winning had nine points for Episcopal.
“We’ll make a run, and then we’ll relax and allow them to make another run,” Campbell said. “Whether we relax defensively or take quick shots on offense, it creates a snowball effect. I thought we did some good things today.”
