David Tucker, with help from Eddie Leal (partially hidden, at left), team up to force a tie-ball against Texas A&M-Commerce, on Monday. Other PJC players in the picture are (from left) Marcus Holt, Delvin Dickerson (21)and Chris Jones (11). (eParisExtra photo by Charles Richards)
By CHARLES RICHARDS
eParisExtra.com
Anthony Adams wrapped up a 13-point first half by hitting a shot from mid-court, giving Paris Junior College a 40-31 lead in a scrimmage Monday afternoon at Texas A&M-Commerce.
Adams, known as “Ant” because at 5-8, the sophomore from Pontiac, Mich., is the smallest player on the floor, finally let out a smile as he was swarmed by his teammates after the shot.
Also in that first 20 minutes of play, 5-9 sophomore guard Mike Harmon of Houston added 12 points on four 3-pointers, and Mo Mitchell, a 6-6 sophomore forward from Fayetteville, Ga., pulled down six rebounds.
PJC men’s coach Chuck Taylor
“I saw what I needed to see in the first half,” PJC coach Chuck Taylor said.
Forgive the coach if he didn’t care to dwell on the second half, which started with the score back at 0-0 again. More about the second half later.
“We’ve still got some work to do as far as getting our timing down on our offense, doing the little things we’ve got to do,” Taylor said.
PJC’s men and women open the 2012-2013 season with a doubleheader Saturday at the Hunt Center against Murray State. The Lady Dragons play at 4 p.m., followed by the Dragons at 6 p.m.
“We look forward to a big crowd coming out on Saturday, supporting us on Homecoming. We’ll see what happens from there,” Taylor said.
As for Monday’s scrimmage against A&M-Commerce, Taylor said “I really thought we did a really good job the first half. The second half, I allowed some guys to play some extended minutes so they can understand what it’s like to play in the big leagues, because I still don’t believe they do.”
Taylor added, “Now, it all counts. You either prove you can play in the preseason or you don’t.”
Taylor started an all-sophomore alignment of Adams and Harmon at guard, Mitchell and 6-4 Eddie Leal of Dallas at forward, and 6-11 Marcus Holt of Aurora, Colo., at center.
First in off the bench were 6-8 Fort Worth freshman Will Ransom and 6-6 Houston freshman Delvin Dickerson at forward, 6-2 McKinney sophomore Antonio Arnold and 5-9 Memphis freshman Chris Jones at guard, and 7-foot Highland Park, Mich., freshman Lamar Walker at center.
David Tucker, a 6-1 Dallas freshman, saw some action at guard, as did 6-5 Dallas freshman Sheldon Yearwood at forward. In the second half, 6-1 Pontiac, Mich., freshman guard Jemarea Samples and 5-11 Mansfield freshman guard Courtney Austin also saw action.
The first half, the Dragons hit 6-of-12 three-pointers in the first half to just 1-of-3 by TAMC’s Lions.
The second half was a different story, as A&M-Commerce put on a 3-point clinic over the last 20 minutes – making 12-of-16 from outside. Meanwhile, the Dragons were 0-for-4 on their second-half 3-point attempts
Paris Junior College led 15-14 after 7:51 of the second half. Then the bottom dropped out.
Raining down 3-pointers, the Lions went on a 40-2 run over the next nine and a half minutes to go ahead 54-17, as PJC not only made just one field goal but went 0-for-7 from the free throw line.
Dickerson made a basket and went 4-for-4 from the line in the last two minutes, cutting the final score for the second half to 59-25.
It’s been a long time since a PJC team allowed 59 points in a half. Frequently, the Dragons allow fewer than that in an entire game.
Quince Jackson, a 5-10 sophomore guard from Frisco, and Taylor Phelps, a 5-10 freshman guard from Grand Saline, both were 4-of-5 from outside the 3-point line for the Lions over the last 20 minutes.
PARIS 40-25–65
A&M-COMMERCE 31-59–90
PARIS – Anthony Adams 6-8 2-2 15, Mike Harmon 4-6 0-0 12, Delvin Dickerson 3-6 5-5 11, Eddie Leal 3-7 2-2 9, Mo Mitchell 4-4 0-0 8, Antonio Arnold 1-3 2-4 4, Lamar Walker 2-2 0-4 4, Sheldon Yearwood 1-1 0-0 2, Will Ransom 0-1 0-1 0, Chris Jones 0-1 0-0 0, David Tucker 0-2 0-0 0, Jamarea Samples 0-1 0-0 0, Marcus Holt 0-2 0-0 0, Henry Buckley 0-0 0-0 0, Courtney Austin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 24-42 11-18 65. Three-pointers: 6-17 (Harmon 4-6, Adams 1-2, Arnold 0-2, Leal 1-3, Tucker 0-2, Dickerson 0-1, Samples 0-1). Rebounds: 23 (Mitchell 6, Ransom 4, Arnold 2, Tucker 2, Dickerson 2, Leal 2, Jones 1, Walker 1, Yearwood 1, Holt 1, Austin 1). Fouls: 26 (Mitchell 4, Arnold 3, Ransom 3, Harmon 2, Jones 2, Tucker 2, Dickerson 2, Walker 2, Holt 2, Adams 1, Samples 1, Leal 1, Yearwood 1). Assists: 12 (Harmon 4, Arnold 2, Adams 2, Leal 2, Austin 1, Dickerson 1). Steals: 4 (Adams 1, Jones 1, Dickerson 1, Holt 1).
PJC teammates swarm toward Anthony “Ant” Adams after he makes a 3-point shot at the halftime buzzer from mid-court at the left sidelines. The shot gave the Dragons a 40-31 “victory” for the first half of play. The second half started all over again at 0-0. (eParisExtra photo by Charles Richards)
PJC’s Chris Jones (11) defends against A&M-Commerce senior guard Esteban Arriola in the first half of a Monday scrimmage. Other PJC players are (from left) Mike Harmon (5), Lamar Walker (24), Eddie Leal (23) and Mo Mitchell (32).
PJC’s Anthony Adams (10) guards A&M-Commerce guard Stefon Carson (20), while Mo Mitchell (32) closes in on Lions forward Kenny Brown (23). (eParisExtra photo by Charles Richards)
PJC assistant coaches Derek Taylor (center) and Maurice “Mo” Heade greet guard Anthony Adams as he comes out of the scrimmage. (eParisExtra photo by Charles Richards)
Charles Richards Charles Richards moved to Paris in 2004 after retiring from a 40-year career in journalism – the last 26 years as a news writer and sports writer with The Associated Press in Dallas and Washington, D.C. In mid-2004, The Paris News coaxed him out of retirement, and he began covering the police, court and regional beat for The Paris News. Then in early 2005, he was switched to coverage of a sharply divided Paris City Council. He was appointed by the City Council in 2006 to the 12-member City Charter Review Commission, which extensively rewrote the outmoded document. His writing awards include two first-place awards in statewide competition for feature writing. The most recent was his 2005 story on a Paris doctor’s startling use of leeches in a successful attempt to re-attach a man’s severed ear. Over his career, Richards’ interview subjects include Alabama Gov. George Wallace, President Bill Clinton, President George W. Bush, David Koresh, Arnold Palmer, Muhammad Ali and numerous other political and sports figures. He is an alumnus of Texas Tech, where he was editor of the school newspaper. He lives in Paris with his wife, Barbara, who is retired after 30 years as a teacher and high school counselor.
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