NORTH LITTLE ROCK 68, CABOT 45
Much like against Bryant on Tuesday, North Little Rock used a strong third quarter to pull away from Cabot and end the Panthers' two-game winning streak with a 68-45 victory Friday on the Charging Wildcats' home floor.
North Little Rock (21-7, 12-2 7A-Central) will take the No. 1 seed into the Class 7A state tournament next week on its home floor. The Charging Wildcats will not play until Friday. Cabot (18-10, 6-8) will go into the tournament as the No. 6 seed from the 7A-Central.
North Little Rock lagged behind Cabot in the first quarter, allowing the Panthers to grab a 14-12 advantage after the first eight minutes. The Charging Wildcats picked up some momentum in the second quarter, outscoring the Panthers by a 19-12 edge to hold a 31-26 lead at the half.
Then came the third quarter. That's when Ray Fresh found the range beyond the three-point line, leading the Charging Wildcats to a 15-point edge in the quarter.
"I told the guys on the bench I guess we were just dumb playing the way we did in the first half," said North Little Rock Coach Johnny Rice. "We should just start playing the third quarter first.
"We talked about that. We had a really good third quarter just like we did in the last game. We did the same thing, did some zone. We did it the same way [at Cabot]."
Moses Moody hit two quick field goals, then Cabot's Jalen Brown hit one of his four three-pointers. Fresh and Moody had field goals and Otis Jordan had a three-point play, giving North Little Rock a 42-29 lead.
Noah Allgood hit a field goal for the Panthers, then Fresh and DeCorey Watkins combined for the next 11 points before Brown hit another three-pointer for Cabot at the buzzer.
Fresh had a game-high 17 points to lead North Little Rock. Moody added 12 and Collin Moore had 11. Brown led the Panthers with 12.
NORTH LITTLE ROCK 68, CABOT 45
CABOT 45
May 3 0-1 7, Vance 1 0-0 3, Weir 1 1-2 3, Vaught 2 0-0 5, Hudson 1 5-8 7, Brown 5 0-0 14, Allgood 3 0-0 6. Totals 16 6-11 45.
NORTH LITTLE ROCK 68
Jordan 3 1-1 8, Fresh 6 2-2 17, Thrower 2 0-0 6, Watkins 3 5-9 11, Moody 5 1-2 12, Simes 2 0-1 4, Washington 1 0-0 2, Veasley 0 2-2 2. Totals 25 11-17 68.
Cabot;14 12 8 11 -- 45
North Little Rock;12 19 23 14 -- 68
Three-point goals -- Cabot 7 (Brown 4, Vaught, Vance, May) North Little Rock 7 (Fresh 3, Thrower 2, Moody, Jordan). Team fouls -- Cabot 16, North Little Rock 14. Fouled out -- None.
Sports on 02/24/2018