Fast second half start spurs Karr to victory over Helen Cox

WESTWEGO, LA. – Getting off to a fast start is always a huge boost in any game.

While Karr did not start its game with Helen Cox quickly Thursday night, the Cougars came out of the locker room at halftime with a vengeance, going on a decisive 13-0 run as Karr went on to defeat Helen Cox 50-40 in the quarterfinals of the Allstate Sugar Bowl National Prep Classic at the Alario Center.

Both teams defended ferociously in the opening quarter and struggled on the offensive end with the Cougars taking a 5-3 lead.

Both teams heated up in the second quarter as the lead changed hands six times and there were five ties as the half ended even at 21-21. Marc Bowie scored seven points in the quarter for Karr, including a pair of 3-pointers. Terrence Joseph had five points in the quarter for Helen Cox.

The deciding run came to start the third quarter when Karr went on its 13-0 run in the first 3:09 of the period to take a 34-21 and Helen Cox (13-6) never recovered. Bowie and Quindell Johnson scored five points each in the quarter.

“At halftime, we talked about picking our energy up,” said Karr head coach Taurus Howard. “We turned the ball over a little bit in the first half and we missed some easy shots so we talked about that at halftime, about taking care of the ball and getting the ball to the right spots. They pretty much did that. They did a good job of executing doing the 13-0 run. We really challenged the kids to get out to their shooters and they did a good job.”

Bowie led Karr (11-7) with 16 points.

“At halftime, coach just told us to come out with a lot of energy,” Bowie said. “When it’s a close game, you’ve got to maintain your energy and put them away. That team there, they hit a couple of shots and they are back in the game. You have keep your foot on the gas, keep playing hard and get the job done.”

De’Antray Hughes finished with nine points and seven rebounds while Quindell Johnson had eight points and eight rebounds. Isaiah Lewis and Daelon Murdock each finished with eight points to lead Helen Cox.

Karr advances to the semifinals to take on Osceola, Florida Friday night at 8:30 p.m. The Kowboys advanced with a 49-47 win over Landry-Walker.

“We’ve got to find ourselves, we’ve been trying to find ourselves, getting people in the right spots where they are comfortable at and just trying to execute,” Bowie said. “Osceola is a good team, they are no scrubs. They are a pretty good team. We’ll have to play well.”

“They are very, very good,” Howard said. “They are very quick, they’ve got a lot of guards, they can shoot the ball. Tomorrow, we’re going to have our hands full.”

Final
HC 5 16 7 12 40
Karr 3 18 19 10 50

Scoring
HC—Isaiah Lewis 8, Daelon Murdock 8, Albert Pierre 6, Terrence Joseph 5, Kalil Lloyd 4, Quang Nguyen 3, Derrick Castine 3

Karr—Marc Bowie 16, De’Antray Hughes 9, Quindell Johnson 8, Reynaud Shields 8, Myron Green 6, Kendall Johnson 2, Skylar Perry 2