Paris News article on the North Lamar game on 2/3

http://theparisnews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=d6a0f863c959c9f7

Wildcats win big in crosstown showdown

By Van Hilburn The Paris News

Published February 4, 2007

Paris Wildcat senior guard Decedric Sims nailed a 3-pointer the onset of the first quarter and the Wildcats never trailed, cruising to a 64-49 victory Saturday night against crosstown rivals North Lamar in a pivotal District 11-4A contest.

Before a packed house in Wildcat Gym, Paris held 20-point leads three times, including once in the fourth quarter, as North Lamar found itself playing catchup the entire night. The win avenged an earlier district loss to the Panthers.

"It's always important to set the tempo, especially tonight. We let them control the tempo and the game the last time we played them, so we wanted to establish our game early in this one," said Paris coach Brock Blassingame.

All but one of the eight Wildcats scored, led by Keon Furtch, who scored a game-high 20 points, while grabbing seven rebounds, getting three assists and two steals.

"That's what Keon does. Defending, rebounding and running the floor is what he does well," said Blassingame of Furtch. "We need for him to have good all-around games like that."

Junior Wildcat forward Courtney Jackson followed with 16 points, six boards and four assists for Paris, Sims scored 11 points, while senior post Marshall Carrell added six points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked three shots.

Junior guard Justin Collard led North Lamar with 12 points. He was the only Panther to score in double figures. Colt Holbert added nine.

With three-games remaining in the regular season, Paris (19-6, 5-2) moved into a two-way tie for first with Mount Pleasant heading into Tuesday night's game at Sulphur Springs. Mount Pleasant (16-7, 5-2) beat Texas High (14-10, 4-3), 57-50. North Lamar (17-12, 3-4) remains tied with Sulphur Springs (18-8, 3-4) heading into Tuesday night's game at home against Mount Pleasant.

The Wildcats set the tone early in the first quarter with Furtch leading the way. The 6-3 junior forward scored nine of his 20 points in the opening stanza, while grabbing Paris' first four rebounds. He converted a three-point play at the 4:26 mark of the period to give his team an 8-4 lead, and he later took a feed inside from Jackson to put Paris ahead 14-8.

A three-pointer by Justin Miller at the 1:30 mark of the first quarter made it a three-point game at 14-11. Paris closed out the period on a 5-0 run, as Jackson hit a free throw, got a slam off the break, and knocked down a jumper with three seconds left to send the Wildcats into the second quarter holding a 19-11 lead.

Paris' eight-point lead grew to 14 early in the second quarter courtesy of baskets from Jackson, Jordan Fields and two free throws by Furtch.

Holbert ended the Wildcats' 11-0 run and a 5 1/2 minute scoring drought by his team when he knocked down a shot at the 4:30 mark of the second quarter. The Panthers were unable to trim the deficit to single digits by halftime, as they misfired in the lane on two possessions.

"In the second quarter, we missed a bunch of easy shots right at the rim. We basically were missing layups," said North Lamar coach Billy Mack Steed. "Then we couldn't hit free throws."

Jackson nailed a shot at the buzzer to give his team a 33-18 advantage at intermission.

Paris made 21 of 44 shots from the field (48 percent), while North Lamar was 16 of 39 (41 percent). The Wildcats also won the battle on the boards, out-rebounding the Panthers 36-24, including 10-5 on the offensive end.

"Paris did a great job on the board. They pounded us on the boards. Then when we did get the ball inside in the second half, they blocked a lot of shots," added Steed. "Paris did a good job in this one, and we didn't do a good job."

Turnovers were also key, as the Panthers committed 19, and the Wildcats 16. Ten of North Lamar's turnovers came in the first half.

In the second half, Paris continue its aggressive play, as Furtch scored on a runner, then Sims stole an inbound pass and scored, giving the Wildcats a 37-18 lead with 6:26 remaining in the third. A basket by Holbert and two free throws by Collard allowed the Panthers to cut their deficit to 14 points at the end of the third quarter, as they entered the fourth trailing 43-29.

That was the closest North Lamar would get, as most of the fourth quarter was a game of free throws.

Paris was 19 of 34 for the game from the line, while North Lamar was 11 of 23.

Paris High's junior varsity defeated North Lamar 56-46, led by Equittas Jenkins and Wesley Martin, who scored 20 and 19 points, respectively. North Lamar was led by Sinjin Smith Smith's 20 points. Logan Parson added seven.

North Lamar 11 7 11 20 — 49

Paris 19 14 10 21 — 64

North Lamar (17-12, 3-4) — Colt Holbert 9, Qualon Fort 5, Brett Melton 6, Justin Collard 12, Justin Thomas 6, Justin Miller 4, Patrick Thomas 2. FT 11-23. Threes 2 (Miller 2). Fouls 24.

Paris (19-6, 5-2) — Decedric Sims 11, Jordan Fields 4, Keon Furtch 20, Courtney Jackson 16, Marshall Carrell 6, Payton Carrell 5. FT 19-34. Threes 1 (Sims). Fouls 21.