LITTLE ROCK — The Little Rock Fair War Eagles overcame a slow start and a five-point third quarter on their way to a 61-49 victory over the Little Rock Central Tigers on Friday.
Xavier Lindsey led the way for the War Eagles (5-5) with 22 points, while Anthony Black led the Tigers (2-6) with 11 points.
After scoring just six points in the game’s first five minutes, the War Eagles jumped out to a 25-9 lead with 6:10 left to play in the first half. Fair went into the locker room up 37-21 behind 15 first-half points for Lindsey.
But the Tigers played excellent defense in the third quarter, holding the War Eagles to one field goal - a three-pointer by Lindsey. Central scored 11 points in the period, cutting Fair’s lead to 42-32 heading into the fourth quarter.
That’s when the Tigers went cold. Central had opportunities to draw closer, but failed to convert.
“We had them right where we wanted them,” Central Coach Fitzpatrick said. “Whenwe cut it to 10, we felt like we had a chance, but it didn’t seem to matter what we did, we just couldn’t make a basket. We got the ball where we wanted - to who we wanted - and we couldn’t hit an open shot.”
The one bit of drama in the final quarter came with 4:30 left to play when the Tigers and the War Eagles traded baskets on 10 possessions, making a 49-37 game a 59-44 game with 2:02 remaining.
The War Eagles won easily despite missing 16 of 26 free throws and turning the ball over 11 times in the second half.
Anthony Coleman and Charess Johnson were the only other War Eagles in double figures, finishing with 11 and 10 respectively. Larry Wilburn finished with 10 for Central.
LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL (49) Wilkerson 3 0-0 6, Polite 1 0-0 2, Felder 2 2-3 6, Pride 2 0-1 4, Wilbert 2 2-2 7, Wilburn 5 0-0 10, Black 4 0-0 11, Griffin 1 0-0 3. Totals 20 4-6 49.
LITTLE ROCK FAIR (61) Central (2-6) .......................... 9 12 11 17 - 49 LR Fair (5-5) ......................... 15 22 5 19 - 61 Salley 2 3-8 7, Coleman 4 0-0 11, Lindsey 9 2-6 22, Henderson 0 1-2 1, Wallace 1 0-0 2, Johnson 3 4-8 10, Hinton 0 0-2 0, Adams 4 0-0 8. Totals 23 10-26 61. Three-point goals - Central 5 (Black 3, Wilburt 1, Griffin 1); Fair 5 (Coleman 3, Lindsey 2). Team fouls - Central 22, Fair 15. Fouled out - Felder.
Sports, Pages 26 on 12/18/2010