SEARCY -- Michael Shook had to check with the bench.
Late in the third quarter, the Maumelle boys basketball coach polled his assistants to see if he should call a timeout and give his players a break as they were in a back-and-forth battle with Valley View.
They emphatically overruled him, and the Hornets played on, ending the third quarter with a seven-point lead.
Shook's assistants saw something in the Valley View players that suggested the dam was nearing a break, and that's exactly what happened as Maumelle ultimately won 57-39 on Wednesday night at the 5A boys state tournament at Lion Arena.
Maumelle (18-10) opened the fourth quarter on a 10-0 run, forcing Valley View (19-11) to be the one to call that timeout.
"I felt like we were able to get into their legs a little bit in that fourth quarter," Shook said.
"Credit to my assistants, they help me a lot. I don't notice stuff they do. They keep me in check."
With four starters 6-5 or taller, Maumelle's length was something Valley View never found an answer to.
"We couldn't really match their length," Valley View Coach Lane Campbell said. "We knew we had to just battle and battle, and I'm extremely proud of my kids. They battled their butts off, did everything they could. But sometimes, you just can't coach size.
"They're the biggest, from one to five starting, that we've faced this year."
With the Blazers wearing down after three quarters, sophomore guard Jacob Lanier and junior guard Markalon Rochell took that as their cue to put their stamp on the game. The duo combined for 18 of Maumelle's 22 points in the fourth quarter. Rochell led the Hornets with 19 points, followed by Lanier's 18.
Josh Burnett led Valley View with 19 points. Gavis Ellis had 14 points. No other Blazer had more than three.
Vilonia 70, West Memphis 38
Vilonia opened its tournament in dominant fashion, jumping out to a 13-1 lead. Led by senior guard Josh Lawrence, the Eagles (22-7) led by 10 after the first quarter and 22 at halftime.
In the second half, that lead hovered around 30 points as senior Deshun Spence and junior Lane Taylor took their turn leading the Vilonia offense.
Taylor led the Eagles with 22 points, while Lawrence had 21 and Spence had 15. Senior forward Ethan Dietz hit a three-pointer in his return from a left foot injury.
Anthony Vaughn led West Memphis (14-17) with eight points.
Little Rock Parkview 52, Marion 47
Little Rock Parkview outscored Marion 7-2 over the final 2:15. With the loss, all four teams from 5A-East Conference have been eliminated from the state tournament.
Senior Dallas Thomas led Parkview (16-13) with 18 points, including back-to-back three-pointers in the third quarter to regain the lead. Classmate Brandon Riley hit 3 three-pointers in the fourth quarter for his nine points.
Marion (20-6) was led by senior Ronnie Townsend's 12 points.