Little Rock Central Coach Oliver Fitzpatrick has been bringing his Tigers to Little Rock Catholic for 24 years. His last trip to face the Rockets resulted in a 59-40 victory Friday night.
The Tigers had a 24-20 lead at the half, then took advantage of 13 of 19 free-throw shooting and three field goals in the final quarter to pull away for the victory.
“We made [Central] commit to good shots in the first half,” Fitzpatrick said. “[Catholic was] committed to the zone defense in the first half and we got a little lead on them.”
Central was balanced in the first half, getting 12 points in each quarter.
The Rockets turned the tables somewhat in the second quarter, outscoring the Tigers 14-12.
Central came back to life in the third quarter, holding the Rockets to only a field goal from Dawson, four free throws from John Chase and two free throws from Mays Porter.
Jackson added another three-pointer to go with two more field goals as the lead increased to 40-28 after three quarters.
Jackson had 17 points. Funk led the Rockets with 11.
LR CENTRAL 59, LR CATHOLIC 40
Sports on 01/27/2018