By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
HUGHES --After a pair of one-point, nail-bitter victories over the weekend at the DeWitt Invitational, the Hughes Blue Devils needed a win with some breathing room to spare.
They got it Tuesday before a packed home crowd.
The Blue Devils improved to 6-3 for the year by holding off a game Forrest City Mustang team 69-55.
Forrest City won the JV boys' game 36-24 and the Lady Mustangs got their first win of the year, turning back the Lady Blue Devils 56-35.
Hughes senior guard, Robert Davis, coming off a 29-point scoring effort against White Hall, led Hughes with 20 points Tuesday night. But high scoring honors went to the visitors.
Forrest City's Kerry Evans scored a quiet 25 points in his first game back after suffering a broken foot in preseason to lead all scorers.
"Kerry made a difference for us tonight and it's good to have him back on the floor," said Forrest City Coach Dwight Lofton. "He took the ball to the hoop and that's what we needed to have. We didn't get the win, but we played much better than we did in the Rumble and made some improvements in a lot of areas."
The Mustangs had the Blue Devils on the ropes in the first half but couldn't sustain the effort after halftime.
The Mustangs went to intermission with a one-point lead, 26-25 after a see-saw first half in which Forrest City led by as many as five points.
The Blue Devils opened the third period with a 15-to-0 run to take a 40-26 lead with 4:53 to play.
Forrest City stopped the run when sophomore forward Lorenzo Spearman turned a conventional three-point play which started an 8-to-0 Mustang run, trimming Hughes' lead to 40-34 with less than three minutes to play in the period.
Following a time out, the Blue Devils closed out the period with a 9-to-3 run to start the fourth with a 49-37 cushion.
Forrest City scored the first four points of the final period to cut Hughes' lead to 49-41 and then Davis took over, scoring nine of his 20 points in the fourth period.
The Mustangs tried to stay close in the final three minutes with three-pointers from Evans, Spearman and Derrick Smith, shaving the Blue Devils' lead to 12 points three times but could get no closer.
Antonio Cotton added 15 points for Hughes while Jermaine Davis added 10 and Chris Crawford and Jay Doolittle finished with nine points each.
Spearman and Derek Brown finished with nine points for the Mustangs while Vince Millen had four and Torando Lay and Deangelo Braddock added three points each.
The Mustangs will open play in the Bryant Invitational Thursday night when they play C.A.C. at 5:30 p.m.
Senior Girls
Forrest City 56, Hughes 35
The Forrest City Lady Mustangs picked up their first win of the year Tuesday, getting a combined 27 points from Deosha Agnew and Caronica Randle in a 56-35 win over Hughes.
Randle led the Lady Mustangs with 14 points and nine rebounds.
Agnew finished with 13 points and 10 steals. Trina Wynne and Katrina Floyd each added eight points while Chrystal Summage and Gabrielle Agnew chipped in four points.
The Lady Mustangs opened the game with a 12-0 run before Hughes scored with four minutes left to play in the first period.
Forrest City, 1-4, settled for a 29-7 lead to start the second period and led 38-13 at the half.
After pushing the lead to 50-18 with 5:20 to play in the third, Lady Mustang Coach Sue Jayroe went to her bench, playing her subs for the remainder of the game.
Victoria Doolittle led Hughes with nine points while Tahindra Smith had six points and Latisha James added five.
The Lady Mustangs do not play again until Friday, Dec. 14, when they host Wynne.
The Lady Blue Devils will open 6AAA Conference play Friday night when they host the Brinkley teams.
The three-game set begins at 5 p.m., with a junior girls game followed by the senior girls and the senior boys.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
LITTLE ROCK -- After a solid first half of play, the Palestine-Wheatley Patriots went cold during the second half and fell to the Arkansas Baptist Eagles 78-38 Tuesday at Little Rock.
The Eagles improve to 9-1 for the year while the Patriots dip to 1-6.
Arkansas Baptist got 22 points from senior Ross Spigner and 19 points from Brett Hays in the win.
DeVille Pickett led P-W with 12 points while Oliver Smith and Brandon Roberts added 10 points each.
The Eagles led 18-10 after one period and 31-24 at the half before shooting lights out in the second half to push their lead to 54-31 after a 24-to-7 third period.
"I don't have exact percentages but I bet they shot over 90 percent from the field in the second half," said P-W Coach Terry Clardy.
Senior Girls
Ark. Baptist 54, P-W 45
The Lady Patriots got 16 points from senior guard Nikki Bass and 10 points from Nikita Love but couldn't overcome the Lady Eagles, losing 54-45.
The Lady Eagles improve to 4-6 for the year.
P-W defeated the Lady Eagles 46-45 in the opening game of the season played at Patriot Gym.
Tuesday night, Arkansas Baptist led 14-8 after one period and 27-18 at the half. They pushed their lead to 43-32 to start the fourth period.
Rebekah Johnson led the Lady Eagles with 18 points.
P-W will host Cotton Plant Friday night for a three-game set.
* PREP BASKETBALL
TUESDAY'S SCORES
Senior Boys
Biggers-Reyno 83, Williford 44
Black Rock 85, Lynn 62
CRA 53, Delaplaine 42
Hoxie 70, Oak Ridge Central 52
Izard Co. 56, Salem 48
Mammoth Spring 83, Maynard 81
Memphis Home Ed. 60, MCCA 57
Rivercrest 74, Parkin 71
River Valley 92, Evening Shade 72
Hughes 69, Forrest City 55
Arkansas Baptist 78, Palestine-Wheatley 38
Senior Girls
Biggers-Reyno 59, Williford 32
Forrest City 56, Hughes 35
Arkansas Baptist 54, Palestine-Wheatley 45
Brookland 44, Westside 25
Corning 49, Piggott 46
Cross County 58, EPC 44
Delaplaine 59, CRA 40
Hoxie 59, Walnut Ridge 28
Lynn 55, Black Rock 43
Maynard 55, Mammoth Spring 41
Paragould 60, Sloan-Hendrix 57
River Valley 61, Evening Shade 51
Salem 68, Izard Co. 60
Valley View 48, Nettleton 36 (OT)
Junior Boys
Biggers-Reyno 51, Williford 25
Hoxie 71, Oak Ridge Central 45
Maynard 62, Mammoth Spring 39
River Valley 47, Evening Shade 42
Salem 43, Izard Co. 23
Junior Girls
Black Rock 41, Lynn 39 (OT)
Corning 32, Piggott 28
Cross County 33, EPC 22
Delaplaine 35, CRA 30
Hoxie 39, Walnut Ridge 10
Maynard 37, Mammoth Spring 36
Paragould 33, Sloan-Hendrix 24
Valley View 27, Nettleton 20
Westside 45, Brookland 23
TOURNAMENTS
Pepsi Roundball Classic at Batesville
Senior Boys
Wynne 49, Searcy 47
Pre-Holiday Tournament at Trumann
Senior Boys
Bay 53, Weiner 51
Nettleton 61, Brookland 51
North Pulaski Invitational at North Pulaski
Senior Boys
North Pulaski 78, Greene County Tech 57