Black Knights hammer Generals

Southern Sports & Travel

Top ranked West Memphis may have looked a bit sluggish at times but the Black Knights did what was necessary in getting a 60-30 win over tenth ranked Newton last night at the Class A State Tournament being held at Delta Academy in Marks, Mississippi.

Russ Fitzgerald and Grant Campbell combined for 30 points as West Memphis improved to 30-4 and will take on fourth ranked Tri-County tonight at 7:15 in semi-final action.

“We had a poor shooting night but we won tonight with defense,” said West Memphis head coach Jeff Dalton.

“I told the guys before the game to just find a way to advance. I’m hopeful we can come out tonight and be effective on both ends of the floor. We are excited for the opportunity.”

West Memphis looked sharp in the early going.

After Newton grabbed an early 3-2 lead the Black Knights produced a 13-2 run fueled by juniors Grant Campbell and Russ Fitzgerald to take a 15-5 advantage with 1:35 remaining in the opening quarter of play.

Newton’s lone highlight of the first quarter came on a spectacular slam dunk from Tre’ Collins with just over three minutes left.

(Above) Russ Fitzgerald (#22) of West Memphis works for 2 of his 17 points

Newton pulled to within six points at 15-9 on a Tre’ Collins free throw followed by Nick Pennington’s 3-pointer from the corner with 1:01 left but the Generals were over matched and would get no closer.

West Memphis pummeled Newton with a 16-3 run to start the second quarter and take their biggest lead at 33-12 with eleven seconds remaining in the half.

Newton’s Nick Pennington drilled a 3-pointer at the horn as both teams headed into the locker room with West Memphis holding a 33-15 lead.

West Memphis extended their lead to 43-20 on a Russ Fitzgerald basket in the paint, plus one, with 2:29 left in the third quarter.

The Black Knights finished the third quarter with two Jordan Blann buckets to increase the lead to 47-23 after three quarters of play.

West Memphis was led by Russ Fitzgerald with 17 points, Grant Campbell added 13, Jordan Blann 10, Zach Jones 8, David Lewis 5, Taylor Turnage 3 and Eric Giersch and Zane DeVazier with 2 each.

Newton (17-11) was led by Tre’ Collins with 10 points, Tanner Smith , Stephen Armstrong and Nick Pennington 6 each, and Dillon Williams, Clay Upton and Nate Johnson 1 apiece.