LITTLE ROCK — Little Rock Hall coach Jon Coleman knew that his team would have to come out and win the first three-to-four minutes of the third quarter if they wanted to give themselves a shot against Little Rock Parkview.
It proved to be enough.
The Warriors opened the half on a 9-0 run and held off a late charge by the Patriots charge to take the 63-56 victory on the road at Parkview.
Hall (15-2, 2-0 7A/6A East Conference) started the first half strong, too, thanks to their man-to-man defense and a hot start from Javon Perry, whose left wing 3-pointer gave them a 14-5 lead with 3:35 left in the first quarter.
Parkview turned up their own man-to-man press, this one of the full court variety, which allowed them to take advantage of four turnovers in the final three minutes of the second quarter to pull within 27-25.
Hall center Bobby Portis answered the run at the buzzer, however, knocking down a fall-away jumper from the free throw line to give the Warriors a 29-25 halftime advantage.
After a predominantly tight contest, the Warriors took control with that initial third quarter rush that gave them a 38-25 lead with 5:22 left.
Parkview came back thanks to a furious charge from guard I.J. Ready, who finished with 17 points, but had 11 in the fourth quarter alone. Ready reeled off those 11 straight in a three minute span to pull the Patriots back within 53-50, but Hall sealed the win down the stretch with free throws.
Portis finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds and Perry capped the game with 11 for Hall. Anton Beard finished with 20 points and 5 rebounds for Parkview.
Read more about this game in tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.