Hurst L.D. Bell survives opening-round scare at Aledo tournament

By Matthew Martinez

Special To The Star-Telegram

ALEDO -- Hurst L.D. Bell survived an opening-round scare from Keller Central on Thursday, as the Blue Raiders edged the Chargers 48-46 at the Moritz Dealerships Holiday Classic boys tournament.

Sophomore forward Christian Davis came alive in the second half and led a balanced Bell offense with 11 points and eight rebounds. Senior guard Garrett Hammonds added three 3-pointers and finished with 10 points from the perimeter.

Hammonds started hot, connecting on two of his 3-pointers in the opening minute. But Bell's quick 8-0 lead had evaporated midway through the second quarter, when Central guard Savon Meyers hit a 3-pointer of his own to tie the game at 19-19.

Bell (11-6) took a slim 26-25 lead into halftime and could not get rid of the pesky Chargers in the second half. Central guard J. R. Rogers hit one of his three 3-pointers with six minutes remaining in the third to give the Chargers their first lead of the game, up 28-27 at the time.

Rogers made another with just under a minute left to play that gave the Chargers life, down just 48-44. But late turnovers by Central (2-12) spoiled the comeback. Rogers led all scorers with 16 points.

White Settlement Brewer 50, Everman 41: Brewer's guard-post tandem of Cameron Brown and Yanni Noulas led the Bears (9-9) to a second-half comeback win. Trailing 22-17, Brewer outscored Everman 17-8 in the third quarter to take control of the game.

Brown drove coast-to-coast for a layup midway through the third to cut Everman's lead to 26-24 before Noulas tied the score with a strong post move in the lane one possession later. Noulas finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots, while Brown added 17 points in the win.

Everman guard Reggie Kincaide led the way with 12 points for the Bulldogs (10-7), who played without the services of leading scorer K.J. Malveau.

Keller Timber Creek 51, Burleson Centennial 40: Timber Creek forward Ray Munson turned in the performance of the day, scoring 26 of his team's 51 points.

The senior keyed a 17-6 run that spanned from late in the third quarter to the fourth and put the game away for the Falcons (11-5).

His steal and breakaway layup with a minute left in the game put Timber Creek up 49-39 and put the game out of reach for Centennial.

Spartans post player Taner Nichols led Centennial (9-8, 0-2 8-4A) with 12 points.

Aledo 87, Joshua 42: The hosting Bearcats and the Joshua Owls burned up the nets, combining to hit 22 of 35 on 3-pointers.

The only problem for Joshua was, that after the two teams battled to a 22-22 tie at the end of the first quarter, the Aledo defense kicked into gear and held Joshua to just 20 points in the next three quarters combined.

Aledo guard Taylor Johnson nailed three 3-pointers and led all scorers with 19 points in the win. Forward Carl Williams chipped in 15 as well for the Bearcats (10-8).

Joshua guard Junior Loya finished the night with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting from 3-point land for the Owls (0-13).

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