By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Maumelle gave it their best shot Friday night hosting Sylvan Hills. The Hornets’ best shot just wasn’t nearly good enough. The Bears overcame an energized Maumelle team at the start to cruise to a 90-53 victory.
“We’re going to get everybody’s best, there’s no doubt about that,” Sylvan Hills coach Kevin Davis said. “That’s a position you’d rather be in than not be in, but my guys know they have to be ready for that each night out.”
The Hornets battled hard throughout the first half, even taking a 12-10 lead midway through the first quarter with a 6-0 run. Sylvan Hills closed the quarter with an 8-0 run. Dion Patton and Larry Zeigler each pitched in two buckets off dribble penetration to give the Bears an 18-12 lead.
Sylvan Hills stretched the lead to 41-27 by halftime. Archie Goodwin scored seven points while senior post player Anthony Featherstone came off the bench to provide a lot of energy under the basket. Featherstone missed the previous four games.
“I really think he carried us in the second quarter just with his energy,” Davis said. “He’s been out a while and was really looking forward to getting in there.”
Featherstone scored four points and grabbed four rebounds in the quarter.
Sylvan Hills ran away with it in the third quarter.
After struggling with foul trouble in the first half, post player Devin Pearson came alive to help spark Sylvan Hills’ game-clinching quarter.
Though he hit just one of six field goals, he was seven of eight from the free-throw line and dominated on the glass with five rebounds.
Goodwin also pitched in 13 points in the period and Patton became a one-man distribution center, dishing out five assists. It all added up to a 34-12 advantage for the Bears in the frame, and gave the visiting team a 75-39 lead by the start of the fourth quarter.
Clearing his bench, Davis got everyone in the game early in the fourth. Of the 15 players that got in the game, 13 got on the scoreboard. Goodwin led all scorers with 26 points and also had 11 rebounds and five steals.
Patton scored 11 points to go with his five assists and three steals. Zeigler also scored 11 and Daylon Jones added 10 for the Bears. Outside shooting still hasn’t come around for Sylvan Hills. The team made just three of 20 attempts from beyond the arc.
The Bears also weren’t great from the free-throw line, hitting 17 of 27 attempts, but they did dominate on the glass. Sylvan Hills won the rebounding battle 46-24.
Maumelle was four of 12 from the three-point line and made just eight of 20 free-throw attempts.
Reserve post player Kevin Donnerson led the Hornets with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Darrius Jones scored 10 for Maumelle.
Sylvan Hills (5-1) is off for two weeks due to having met the schedule limit of 18 games and three tournaments.
Sylvan Hills has already played in the Rumble on the Ridge and will play in the Poplar Bluff Showdown over the Christmas break.
They are also schedule to play in the Bass Pro Shop Invitational in Springfield, Mo. in January. The Bears won’t take the floor again until a Dec. 16 home game against White Hall.
