Little Rock Parkview was far from sharp offensively Tuesday night against Fayetteville, but a keen effort on defense gave the Patriots what they needed to walk away with a victory.
Parkview forced the Bulldogs into 24 turnovers, including 17 in the first half, and came up with key defensive plays in the closing minutes to win 67-61 at Ripley Arena.
Senior guard Keylon Harris scored a team-high 14 points for the Patriots (2-0), who lost standout forward Cameron Wallace just seconds into the game. The junior was hobbling up the floor during Parkview's second possession, and eventually was subbed out and didn't return.
Patriots Coach Scotty Thurman said he wasn't sure about the severity of Wallace's injury, but he noted Wallace was complaining about a toe issue prior to tipoff.
"Obviously we're normally better offensively, but with Wallace going down, that kind of hurt us," Thurman said. "But I thought our guys responded. We did do a pretty good job defensively.
"We didn't necessarily play at the level that we wanted to, but we'll take it."
The Patriots trailed only briefly in the first quarter, then led the rest of the way.
Junior guard Thomas Miller and sophomore guard Addison Shelton added 12 points each for Parkview, which held Fayetteville to 36.7% shooting (18 of 49). Junior forward Jeff Kamanga added 10 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocks for Parkview.
Landon Glasper, a junior, scored a game-high 17 points for Fayetteville (0-1). Junior guard C.J. Williams and senior forward Matt Wayman chipped in with 12 points apiece, and junior forward Sawyer Keith finished with 11 points.
Fayetteville went nearly six minutes without a field goal in the second period, which allowed Parkview to build a 29-21 lead by halftime.
The Patriots pushed their edge to 45-33 in the third quarter after sophomore guard Carson Baekus' three-point play capped a 9-0 run.
Fayetteville trailed 50-38 with less than a minute left in the third quarter but scored 21 of the game's next 30 points by forcing turnovers. A three-pointer from Keith with 1:01 remaining in the game tied the score at 59-59. Kamanga scored inside on the Patriots' next possession, then came away with a block on the Bulldogs' ensuing trip to help preserve it.
"He's a glue guy for us," Thurman said of Kamanga. "Jeff's really a pillar for us, especially on the defensive end. That big block he had, not many could've made that play."
Harris added four free throws late for Parkview, which shot 20 of 53 (37.7%) from the field.
GIRLS
LITTLE ROCK PARKVIEW 54, FAYETTEVILLE 51
Sophomore forward Jordan Gregory scored 13 points to help Parkview (1-1) erase a nine-point halftime.
Jasmine Davis, a sophomore, had 11 points while forward Tyra Robinson, also a sophomore, added 11 points, 13 rebounds and 5 blocks.
Senior guard Claudia Bridges finished with 22 points and six steals, and senior Allison Byars ended with 12 for the Lady Bulldogs, who led by as many as 16 points in the first before the Lady Patriots came back.
Fayetteville was down 50-38 in the second half but nearly sent the game into overtime when Byars hit a game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer. The shot was waved off after officials deemed it came after the horn.