Simpson punches ticket to title game
Southern Sports & Travel, By Darron Thomas
The Simpson Cougars advanced to the Class AA semi-finals with a 78-63 win over West Memphis on Thursday night but in that win they suffered a late game injury as sophomore point guard Josh Hankins went down with an a severely sprained ankle. In last night’s semi-final matchup with West Memphis Hankins started the contest but left after only a few possessions. Enter fellow sophomore Walt Prince who along with junior Garrett Taylor knocked down eight 3-pointers on the night as the 6th ranked Cougars advanced to the Class AA State Championship game with a 75-66 win over #7 West Memphis.
Simpson raced out to a 10-3 lead three minutes into the opening quarter of play behind the torrid shooting of Taylor and Prince but a soft floater off the glass from 12 feet out and a 3-pointer from West Memphis senior David Robilio kept the Black Knights within striking distance and with 1:34 remaining in the first quarter the Simpson lead was 19-12.
Southern Sports & Travel, By Darron Thomas
The Simpson Cougars advanced to the Class AA semi-finals with a 78-63 win over West Memphis on Thursday night but in that win they suffered a late game injury as sophomore point guard Josh Hankins went down with an a severely sprained ankle. In last night’s semi-final matchup with West Memphis Hankins started the contest but left after only a few possessions. Enter fellow sophomore Walt Prince who along with junior Garrett Taylor knocked down eight 3-pointers on the night as the 6th ranked Cougars advanced to the Class AA State Championship game with a 75-66 win over #7 West Memphis.
Simpson raced out to a 10-3 lead three minutes into the opening quarter of play behind the torrid shooting of Taylor and Prince but a soft floater off the glass from 12 feet out and a 3-pointer from West Memphis senior David Robilio kept the Black Knights within striking distance and with 1:34 remaining in the first quarter the Simpson lead was 19-12.
Simpson finished the quarter strong as Garrett Taylor converted on one of two free throws and Michael Layton’s bucket, plus one, at the one minute mark would send the Cougars into the second quarter maintaining a 23-12 lead.
West Memphis got two quick baskets to start the second quarter as a Robilio assist to Will Riley and a Robilio baseline floater seemed to signal a change in momentum but another Garrett Taylor 3-pointer squashed any momentum change. Taylor’s third 3-pointer of the half came at the 1:37 mark of the quarter to give Simpson their biggest lead at 36-22.
West Memphis closed out the half with a critical basket from senior Aaron Crouch and two Robilio free throws to pull to within ten points at 36-26.
Simpson stretched back out to a 39-26 lead 40 seconds into the third quarter as Taylor connected on his fourth 3-pointer of the game but West Memphis erupted with a 16-3 run over the next five minutes to knot the game at 42-42.
Cory Herrington converted two free throws as Simpson regained the lead at 44-42. West Memphis senior Aaron Crouch then hit a floater in the lane to tie the game at 44-44 with 1:02 left in the quarter.
Simpson would end the quarter with a Devin Millis basket in the paint with 15 seconds remaining to take a slim 46-44 lead into the final quarter of play.
Simpson quickly pushed out to a six point cushion at 50-44 on a Millis bucket and a Cory Herrington driving lay-in 50 seconds into the fourth quarter.
After Aaron Crouch drilled a 3-pointer from the corner to cut the lead in half Walt Prince of Simpson answered with a 3-pointer of his own and Devin Millis would add two free throws to give the Cougars some breathing room at 55-47 with 6:16 remaining in regulation but the Black Knights weren’t going away.
West Memphis got two quick baskets to start the second quarter as a Robilio assist to Will Riley and a Robilio baseline floater seemed to signal a change in momentum but another Garrett Taylor 3-pointer squashed any momentum change. Taylor’s third 3-pointer of the half came at the 1:37 mark of the quarter to give Simpson their biggest lead at 36-22.
West Memphis closed out the half with a critical basket from senior Aaron Crouch and two Robilio free throws to pull to within ten points at 36-26.
Simpson stretched back out to a 39-26 lead 40 seconds into the third quarter as Taylor connected on his fourth 3-pointer of the game but West Memphis erupted with a 16-3 run over the next five minutes to knot the game at 42-42.
Cory Herrington converted two free throws as Simpson regained the lead at 44-42. West Memphis senior Aaron Crouch then hit a floater in the lane to tie the game at 44-44 with 1:02 left in the quarter.
Simpson would end the quarter with a Devin Millis basket in the paint with 15 seconds remaining to take a slim 46-44 lead into the final quarter of play.
Simpson quickly pushed out to a six point cushion at 50-44 on a Millis bucket and a Cory Herrington driving lay-in 50 seconds into the fourth quarter.
After Aaron Crouch drilled a 3-pointer from the corner to cut the lead in half Walt Prince of Simpson answered with a 3-pointer of his own and Devin Millis would add two free throws to give the Cougars some breathing room at 55-47 with 6:16 remaining in regulation but the Black Knights weren’t going away.
David Robilio got cooking as the senior scored the Black Knight’s next nine points to trim the deficit to one point at 57-56 with 4:04 left but Simpson was relentless in attacking the basket and Cory Herrington and Austin Herrington pushed the Simpson transition game to an eight point lead at 71-63 with less than a minute left in regulation.
David Robilio of West Memphis would log his 35th point of the night on a long 3-pointer with 17 seconds left to close out the scoring at 75-66. Simpson will battle Marshall tomorrow night at 7:15 pm and will be looking to claim their first state championship since 2001.
Garrett Taylor led Simpson (25-10) with 22 points, including four 3-pointers, senior Devin Millis added 17, Cory Herrington 15, Walt Prince 12 (All 3-pointers), Austin Herrington 6 and Michael Layton 3.
David Robilio led West Memphis (21-10) with a game high 35 points, Aaron Crouch added 12, Jordan Blann had 9, Will Riley 5, TJ Newcomb 4 and Grant Campbell 1.
West Memphis will take on Brookhaven in the consolation game starting at 6:00 pm.
Post Game Comments: Simpson Head Coach James Crain
David Robilio of West Memphis would log his 35th point of the night on a long 3-pointer with 17 seconds left to close out the scoring at 75-66. Simpson will battle Marshall tomorrow night at 7:15 pm and will be looking to claim their first state championship since 2001.
Garrett Taylor led Simpson (25-10) with 22 points, including four 3-pointers, senior Devin Millis added 17, Cory Herrington 15, Walt Prince 12 (All 3-pointers), Austin Herrington 6 and Michael Layton 3.
David Robilio led West Memphis (21-10) with a game high 35 points, Aaron Crouch added 12, Jordan Blann had 9, Will Riley 5, TJ Newcomb 4 and Grant Campbell 1.
West Memphis will take on Brookhaven in the consolation game starting at 6:00 pm.
Post Game Comments: Simpson Head Coach James Crain
