Charles Henderson beats Carroll

OZARK — Charles Henderson basketball coach Carl Hollis wanted more defensive pressure after his Trojans trailed Carroll High by a point at halftime, 21-20.

But not even Hollis counted on what happened in the second half. Carroll, plagued by turnovers, poor shooting and one shot on most possessions, managed just eight points over the final two quarters. Charles Henderson won 45-29 in the area opener for both teams.

The Trojans (5-10), who lost four players over the Christmas break, seized control of the game in the third quarter. Jabari Brown, who led the team with 14 points, started a 10-0 run with a pair of free throws. Stephen Baker scored all eight of his points in the third. Henderson pushed the pace with some defensive pressure and the Eagles (10-6) struggled.

Still, Robert Miles completed a three-point play that cut Carroll’s deficit to 34-26 going into the fourth quarter. And they had several possessions to make it closer.

“We missed two straight wide open layups,” Carroll coach Phillip Landers said. “We’ve got to start making some shots and taking care of the basketball.”

After the Eagles missed those early chances, Henderson got a 3-pointer from Daris Wilson and two inside baskets from Justin Davis, the second of which came after an offensive rebound on a missed free throw. That extended Henderson’s lead to 41-26 with 5:13 left in the game.

“I did think we rebounded pretty well,” Hollis said about the Trojans’ second-half performance on the defensive end. “We changed defenses on them. We had been playing a 2-3 and went to a 1-2-2. When we went to pressure, they didn’t handle it very well.”
Still, the Trojans irked their coach by shooting just 6-for-20 from the foul line.

“Six-for-20 will get you beat most nights,” he said.

Carroll’s Bryant McCray led the Eagles with 15 points, 11 in the first quarter. McCray made Carroll’s only basket of the fourth quarter with 2:07 left. That cut it to 43-29. Carroll scored five points in the third quarter and three points in the fourth.

In the girls game, Erica Henderson scored 23 points and Niara Shipman added 17 to lead Charles Henderson (6-6) over Carroll 54-44.  Tia Faleru led the Eagles with 27 points. Akia Borders scored 10 points and had five rebounds in the loss.