WM pulls off comeback, tops Houston
WM pulls off comeback, tops Houston
Blue Devils off to 4- 0 start
WM School District With 3:43 to play in the third quarter of Saturday night's Blue Devil Classic game against West Memphis, Houston High's Ryan Boyce tipped in a missed shot to give the visiting Mustangs a 14point lead over the Blue Devils.
Faced with their first moment of adversity this season, the Blue Devils reached into the crevices of their young hearts and began chipping away at the Mustangs.
And doing most of the chipping was ninth-grader Chris Moore, who could still be playing junior high ball but wouldn't be challenged nearly enough.
Moore scored 10 of the Blue Devils' next 16 points and in the end helped West Memphis score an impressive 63-56 win over a Houston team deep with talent and length.
After four games, the Blue Devils are off to their first 4-0 start since the 2010-11 season that saw them start 14-0.
The grittiness the Blue Devils showed in their own Classic had several aspects to it that pleased head coach Larry Bray.
His squad defeated O.D.
Wyatt High School out of Fort Worth, Texas on Friday night 59-49.
'Houston has a great ball club,' said Bray. 'They have great size, they're athletic and they have good mid-range shooters.
For us to beat them…that says a lot. We tightened up on defense when we got down (by 14 points) and we just didn't quit. I was real happy with the way we responded to that challenge, being down by 14.' Moore, who scored 14 points and at least 10 rebounds against Houston, dominated on both ends of the floor late in the third quarter. After Boyce's tip gave Houston a 44-30 lead, Moore responded on the other end with a layup, followed immediately by a conventional three-point play which began to swing the momentum back toward West Memphis' way.
In the early moments of the fourth quarter, Moore scored five more points off offensive rebounds and his dunk with 4:37 to play in the game trimmed Houston's lead to 51-48.
'Chris got on the boards for us, and that's what he's going to do for us this year,' said Bray. 'The way I coach it's not who starts, but who finishes. That's who I consider as my starters. So you see who was on the floor at the end.'
Junior guard Curtis Washington, who scored 8 points, swished two free throws to give the Blue Devils their first lead in the second half at 52-51 with 3:25 still to play.
Senior Devin Mosley, who had 7 points, hit two big baskets inside in the final two minutes to solidify the hosts' lead and Sidney Stinson, who led West Memphis with 15 points, sealed it with two free throws with 16.6 seconds to play in the game.
Junior Zachary Byrd chipped in 8 points and delivered another stellar showing in the paint area.
'We haven't been 4-0 in a while, so it feels good,' said Bray. 'We can't get comfortable. We have to keep working.'
In the victory Friday night over Wyatt, the Blue Devils put four players in double figures with junior Kelsey Hubbard leading the way with 12 points while Tevin Mosley, Moore and Byrd all adding 10 points.
Washington pumped in 9.
With the new conference set-up this season, Bray will send his club out for its first league game Tuesday night at Nettleton, which split its two games in the Blue Devil Classic, losing to Houston on Friday night and then defeating Earle on Saturday night
By Billy Woods
Share