Conway overcomes slow start, earns hard-fought win at St. James

A grind from start to finish, Conway head basketball coach Michael Hopkins didn’t find much appealing about his team’s effort Tuesday night against cross-county rival St. James.

For all the issues, though, he found solace in at least one – the Tigers found a way to win.

Despite a game Sharks squad, Conway was able to escape with a hard-fought victory, 43-33.

“It was certainly an ugly win,” Hopkins said. “But we knew they were going to be ready to play, they were going to be jacked up, as (St. James) is always a tough place to play. But we weathered the storm there early, we knew they were going to come out with a lot of energy.”

The Tigers, recently named the No. 6 team in Class AAAA by the state Basketball Coaches Association (SCBCA), learned quickly their trip to St. James would be no cakewalk.

As most were settling into their seats, Conway was hit with an early haymaker courtesy of the Sharks.

Following an acrobatic lay-up by senior Jackson Hurston, fellow St. James upperclassman Zach Werba pushed the team’s early advantage to 5-0 by knocking down a shot from beyond the arc. After forcing a turnover on Conway’s ensuing possession, Jordan Fields’ jump shot hit the bottom of the net, extending the Sharks’ lead to 7-0 and force Hopkins to call time.

“To be the competitors that they are, we knew they would make a run,” the Conway head coach said. “They have Werba, they have those guards, it’s just tough to take on this team.”

Following the break, the Tigers’ philosophy seemed to change, choosing to make a concerted effort to put the ball in the hands of Jimmy Nichols. Using his size advantage, the sophomore big man helped get his team back on track with a pair of easy buckets to cut the St. James lead to one at the end of the opening quarter, 7-6.

“Inside we thought we had an advantage on the boards,” Hopkins said. “As long as we keep 42 (Nichols) rested, he can make a difference for us.”

Overcoming its offensive struggles allowed Conway to settle in defensively as well. Such was evidenced through the Tigers outscoring their opponents 13-3 in the second period, giving them a halftime lead – and a bit of breathing room.

“It came down to us finding a combination that worked for us,” Hopkins said. “Our defense looked good for us at times, it was kind of frustrating there because at times we would get them to take shots we wanted them to take, and others not so much. But overall we made it count.”

Hopkins’ frustration was largely the result of Hurston’s ability to shoot over Conway’s zone, and make deep shots with hands in his face. Hitting 5 of 9 3-pointers in the second half, he was able to keep the Sharks in the game before fouling out in the final minutes.

But empty possessions and missed opportunities eventually came back to bite St. James, putting an end to its upset bid.

“Turnovers and shot selection killed us,” said St. James basketball coach Monty Carr. “It was a low-scoring game and we held Conway a bit, but when you count in the number of turnovers and missed lay-ups we had, it kind of gave them the advantage.”

Hurston had a game-high 18 points in defeat. Conway’s Nichols, the only other player in double figures, finished with 14.

This story was originally published January 6, 2016 at 12:16 AM with the headline "Conway overcomes slow start, earns hard-fought win at St. James."