Martin, Madison Prep don’t disappoint, cruise to win
College scouts from LSU and Arizona were among those on hand to watch the playoff debut of Madison Prep junior Jarell Martin. The 6-foot-9 Martin and his teammates didn’t disappoint.
Martin finished with a game-high 34 points, nine rebounds, nine steals and five blocked shots as third-seeded Madison Prep ran away with a 118-36 victory over No. 30 Converse in a Class B bidistrict action at Capitol High on Tuesday night.
“Ideally, we want everything on offense to go through Jarell,” Madison coach Jeff Jones said. “This is the time of the year when you want to play your best.”
Chad Williams added 15 for the Chargers (32-6).Romann Guy (14), Ralston Morris (13), and D.J. Blanton (12), Ronson Robertson (11) and Michael Burns (11) also scored in double figures for a Madison squad that scored 30 or more points — one of Jones’ key objectives — in three of the four quarters.
Dylan Craig led Converse (8-25) with 14 points, including two 3-pointers. The Wildcats were plagued by 43 turnovers, including 19 in the first quarter.
“We’re extremely young, and I suspect we will be much better next year,” Converse coach Richard Mullens said. “The inexperience showed. We had trouble with the press and some of the other things they (the Chargers) did.
“We’re in the same district with (No. 1-ranked) Zwolle and they’re comparable. Zwolle is quicker, but they don’t have a big man like they do.”
The teams traded baskets during the first minute of the game. A 3-pointer by Dylan Sepulvado gave Converse a 5-4 lead at the 7:18 mark.
After that, Martin and Chargers took over. By the time Converse scored again at the 4:33 mark, the score was 22-5.
Turnovers were the biggest issue for Converse. The Wildcats’ 19 first-quarter turnovers led to many easy baskets for Madison. Martin didn’t play the entire quarter, but displayed a full arsenal of skills from a dunk, to a spin move and a 15-foot jumper.
With Martin scoring 10 points, the Chargers raced out to a 33-9 first-quarter lead. It didn’t get much better for the Wildcats from Sabine Parish in the second quarter. The Chargers increased their lead to as much as 38 points.
Converse got a boost from Trey Craig, who made made a 3-pointer and a layup in the final 1:08. But Madison still led 54-20 at the half.
The Wildcats scored only two points, making just 2-of-4 free throws in the third period. Converse was 0-for-10 from field and had 10 more turnovers.
Madison continued to capitalize on the turnovers and poured in 33 points in the quarter. The Chargers led 87-22 when the fourth quarter began.
Martin, who did not play basketball as a ninth-grader at Glen Oaks and sat out last season after transferring to Madison, was pleased with the effort, but not satisfied.
“Our goal is to win the first state championship for Madison Prep,” Martin said. “We need to keep getting better.”