The Bryant Hornets would have been better off if they had seen a lot less of Collin Moore on Tuesday night.
Moore scored 11 points in the first 3:02 of the second half and finished with 21 as North Little Rock downed Bryant 66-46 at the Charging Wildcats arena.
North Little Rock's victory and Fort Smith Northside's loss to Cabot on Tuesday gave the Charging Wildcats the league's No. 1 seed for next week's Class 7A state tournament.
North Little Rock (22-5, 11-2 7A-Central) held a 24-21 advantage at the half but put the game away by scoring 23 of the third quarter's first 25 points.
"That was the best third quarter we've played all year," North Little Rock Coach Johnny Rice said. "We thought at halftime we could get the ball to Collin and when we did, he made plays."
Moore, a junior forward who compiled eight points in the first half, scored his team's first seven points of the third quarter. In the first three minutes of the second half, Moore scored 11 points -- including 2 dunks and went 5 for 5 from the free-throw line -- while grabbing 3 rebounds and making 2 steals.
"He's so long, athletic, aggressive, and he plays like he has a chip on his shoulder," Bryant Coach Mike Abrahamson said. "I wouldn't know why you wouldn't love that kid."
When Moore finally began to slow down, sophomore Moses Moody picked up the pace. Moody was limited to two points in the game's first 18 minutes, but finished with a game-high 22 points and 9 rebounds. Moody scored 10 of his points in a two-minute stretch of the fourth quarter.
After Moody made a three-pointer with 4:04 to play, North Little Rock held a 61-34 lead -- the Charging Wildcats' largest of the contest.
The two teams traded the lead six times in the first half and Bryant (16-10, 7-6) tied the game at 21-21 with 1:30 left in the second quarter on two free throws by sophomore Kelvin Robinson (12 points, 7 rebounds), but North Little Rock's Ray Fresh hit a three-pointer with 1:15 remaining in the half that put the Charging Wildcats ahead for good.
Senior Deron Canada added 10 points for Bryant, which was outrebounded 31-23 and was victimized by 11 North Little Rock steals. North Little Rock was 23 of 46 (50 percent) shooting while the Hornets were 14 of 39 (35.9 percent).
Bryant will finish the regular season Friday at home against Conway in a game that will determine the conference's No. 3 seed.
"I'm more concerned with how we're playing rather than who we're playing or what seed we're playing for," Abrahamson said. "It's been a grind and I've asked a lot of our starters. ... This season has taken a toll on us."
BRYANT (46)
Hunter 3 1-2 8, Robinson 3 5-7 12, Chumley 2 2-4 7, Lambert 0 3-4 3, Canada 4 1-2 12, Merriweather 1 0-1 2, Wallace 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 12-20 46.
NORTH LITTLE ROCK (66)
Jordan 1 0-0 3, Fresh 3 0-1 7, Watkins 0 0-0 0, Moore 6 9-12 21, Moody 8 3-3 22, Simes 2 0-0 4, Fudge 2 0-0 6, Washington 0 0-0 0, Thrower 1 0-0 3, Agee 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 12-16 66.
Bryant (16-10);11 10 5 20 -- 46
North Little Rock (22-5);12 12 27 15 -- 66
Three-point goals -- Bryant 6 (Canada 3, Hunter, Robinson, Chumley); NLR 8 (Moody 3, Fudge 2, Jordan, Fresh, Thrower). Team fouls -- Bryant 16, NLR 15. Fouled out -- Robinson.
Sports on 02/21/2018