CONWAY -- Less than 24 hours after hitting 13 three-pointers, Little Rock Catholic went to its inside game to knock off Rogers Heritage in overtime Saturday afternoon.
Junior Brian Flanagan scored 21 points -- 19 in the second half, including 5 in the extra period -- as the Rockets claimed a 54-46 victory over the War Eagles in the John Stanton Classic at Buzz Bolding Arena.
The Rockets (8-3) made their first two three-pointers Saturday but finished the contest by making only 4 of 16 shots from beyond the arc. In Friday's 67-54 victory over Greenbrier, Catholic was 13 of 27 on its long-range attempts.
"I was afraid we were going to attack less today because we shot it so well last night," said Catholic Coach Todd Ezzi, whose team led 17-9 at the half. "But in the second half, we figured it out and started to get it inside a little bit more."
Flanagan was 7 of 10 on free-throw attempts, and 5 of his 8 rebounds came on the offensive end.
"I just knew we could get it inside more," Flanagan said. "I thought we hustled more and got more rebounds. I was feeling it."
Heritage (4-4) never led but stayed close enough to make a last-minute run. Junior Logan Glenn, who finished with nine points, hit a three-pointer with 1:01 left in regulation to tie the game at 43-43. Both teams missed shots in the lane in the final 10 seconds of regulation that would have won it.
Flanagan hit back-to-back shots to start the overtime to give the Rockets a 47-43 advantage. He added a free throw later in the overtime before fouling out with 1:46 to play.
"Brian did a really good job of attacking the basket," Ezzi said. "He's really improved on getting the ball to the rim and with his finishes. And when they sagged a little bit on defense, he was able to knock down some shots."
Heritage was 3 of 19 from the floor in the first half.
"We're experiencing some growing pains," Heritage Coach Tom Olsen said. "For a lot of these guys, this is their first real run at being responsible. That's why we play nonconference games. Their mental mindset, coupled with some pretty effective defense by Catholic, kind of stymied us for a while."
Heritage's comeback in the second half was spurred by a 12-of-24 showing from the floor in the third and fourth quarters, but the War Eagles were 0 of 5 from the floor in the overtime.
"The play for us to win the game was when we had a running layup in the final 10 seconds of regulation," Olsen said. "I'd rather it roll out now than I would in January or March."
Junior Logan Clines led Heritage with 14 points. Junior Jason Kimball added seven points and had a team-high six rebounds.
Catholic junior Will Kleine knocked down 3 three-pointers and finished with 13 points. Junior guard Charles Daniel grabbed 11 rebounds.
Sports on 12/16/2018