By Randy Jennings/Special Contributor
DUNCANVILLE -- After a lukewarm start, Andrew Jones found his shooting touch to spur Irving MacArthur to a 97-93 victory over Norman (Okla.) North on Friday'sopening day of the seventh annual Nike Thanksgiving Hoopfest at Sandra Meadows Memorial Arena.
Jones, a highly sought-after college prospect who remains unsigned, scored 24 of his game-high 37 points in the second half.
"I was rushing my shot at the beginning,'' the 6-4 senior guard said. "I slowed myself down, started bending my legs and finally saw some buckets start to fall.''
Jones initiated the comeback with an off-balance 30-foot 3-pointer to beat the halftime buzzer. Momentum carried over with MacArthur (2-0) opening the second half with a 9-0 run.
"This is a resilient team,'' said MacArthur coach Toby Martin. "They don't seem concerned when we are facing a size differential. And they pay attention to halftime adjustments.''
Xavious Booker (31 points) and Kennie Cooper (15) combined to hit eight 3-pointers, helping nullify the size advantage of Norman North (0-1).
Trae Young, another of the talented guards on display in the Hoopfest, led the visitors with 34 points.
SATCH 60, South Grand Prairie 59: Trailing by as much as 17 points in the first half, South Grand Prairie fought back to go ahead two minutes into the final quarter.
But needing a basket on its final possession for the win, the Warriors (3-1) came up empty.
Conroe-based SATCH (Sports Association of Texas for Christian Homeschoolers) improved to 9-1. A basket by Texas A&M signee J.J. Caldwell with a minute to go provided the winning margin.
A 3-pointer by Cameron Massey with a half-minute left pulled South Grand Prairie within a point. A player-control foul with 16 seconds left provided a final chance, but the Warriors had to settle for a shot under duress in the lane. But the time the rebound was chased down, time expired.
Harrison Henderson, a 6-10 USC signee, led South Grand Prairie with 11 points. Massey and freshman guard Bryce Cook had 10 apiece. Oklahoma State signee Cameron McGriff, a 6-7 forward, had nine points.
"We were tentative early,'' said South Grand Prairie coach Brandon Bennett. "We didn't play into our system. I wasn't happy with our game, but we've got some young guards and this is just our fourth game.''
Briefly: Mississippi State signee Schnider Herard, a 6-11 center, scored 22 points and freshman guard Justin Webster had 16 in 61-41 Plano Prestonwood Christian victory over Little Rock (Ark.) Hall. Prestonwood improved to 7-1...Mason Jones scored 19 and Jamar Sandifer had 16 in Triple A Academy's 87-71 win over Fort Worth O.D. Wyatt in the Hoopfest opener. Conrad lost to Abilene Cooper 67-46...Saturday's schedule of nine games tips off at 9 a.m.