FORT SMITH SOUTHSIDE 63, LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL 51
Fort Smith Southside converted 11 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter while Little Rock Central hit only 7 of 11 in the quarter as the Mavericks nabbed a 63-51 7A-Central victory Tuesday night at Central.
The Mavericks (10-9, 2-3 7A-Central) took advantage of a 22-12 scoring edge over Central (6-11, 2-4) in the final quarter.
"We played a man-to-man in the first half and they just drove around us," Southside Coach Charles Cooper said. "We switched to a zone in the second half, and that 1-3-1 stopped a lot of their driving and forcing shots from outside.
"We really needed this one. All these teams are pretty close. Coach [Oliver] Fitzpatrick and I were talking before the game and that Conway-Central game [won by Conway 64-55] could have gone either way with a couple of misses or made shots."
The Tigers took advantage of two three-pointers from Jakaylyn Jackson late in the first quarter to fuel a 16-12 advantage after eight minutes.
But Central got only a single field goal in the second quarter to go with six free throws while the Mavericks hit five field goals, including a three from Elijah York, to grab a 27-24 lead at the half.
The Tigers chipped away in the third quarter, getting another three-pointer from Jackson, but the Mavericks still held a 40-38 lead after the quarter.
Southside scored six consecutive points to open the fourth quarter and held Central to only a free throw from KD Arnett with 4:51 left. The Mavericks went on another spree, getting eight consecutive points for a 54-39 lead with 2:53 left in the game.
The Tigers got field goals from AJ Williams, Jackson and Rahjon McIntosh along with a three-pointer from Williams in the final 2:30 to match the Mavericks, but Southside secured the victory by scoring seven of its last nine points from the free-throw line.
Ike Moore had 18, Taye Gatewood 14 and Dillon Hamilton 13 for the Mavericks. Williams led the Tigers with 16 and Jackson added 15.
Sports on 01/24/2018