CONWAY -- Jalen Brown delivered for the Cabot Panthers in the second overtime.
The senior guard drilled a three-pointer, made the ensuing free throw for the four-point play with 1:40 remaining and helped Cabot defeat the Conway Wampus Cats 66-62 in a 7A-Central Conference game Friday night at Buzz Bolding Arena.
Brown, a three-year starter for Cabot (14-3, 2-1) and a member of the school's Class 7A state championship team as a sophomore in 2016, scored 30 points, including 4 three-pointers and a 16-of-19 performance at the free-throw line.
"Jalen's a competitor, man," Cabot Coach Jerry Bridges said. "He plays hard. He works hard. He's always in the gym working on his shot. That was big. He came out hot early and Conway did a good job of really shading towards him and taking him out.
"We needed that."
The four-point play gave Cabot a 58-54 lead, which the Panthers never relinquished. In the final 1:40, Cabot went 9 of 11 at the free-throw line and finished 22 of 29 overall.
Junior guard Christian Williams' three-pointer with 1.6 seconds left pulled Conway within 65-62, but Cabot sophomore guard Jackson Muse sealed the victory with one of two free throws with 0.4 seconds to play.
"We played hard. Not all the way smart, but we played hard tonight," Conway Coach Brian "Salty" Longing said. "But Cabot came in confident they can beat us on our home floor. They made huge shots when they needed them."
Cabot led 50-45 with 2:41 left in the fourth quarter, but Conway tied the game at 50-50 with 2:00 remaining with two free throws by senior center Blake Bradshaw. Cabot senior center Noah Allgood's desperation three-pointer at the end of regulation did not fall, sending the game to overtime.
The Panthers held a 54-53 lead with 4.1 seconds left in the first overtime, but Bradshaw hit one of two free throws with 2.3 seconds left to tie the game at 54-54 and the game went to a second overtime.
Allgood finished with 13 points for Cabot, which has won two consecutive since losing its 7A-Central opener at Little Rock Catholic on Jan. 5.
Conway (11-4, 2-1), which won at North Little Rock on Tuesday, was led by sophomore guard Caleb London's 15 points. Bradshaw added 12 points, and junior guard Kylen Milton chipped in with 10 points.
CABOT (66)
May 1 2-2 5, Weir 3 0-0 7, Vaught 3 2-3 8, Brown 5 16-19 30, Allgood 6 1-3 13, Hudson 1 0-0 2, Muse 0 1-2 1. Totals 19 22-29 66.
CONWAY (62)
London 5 5-6 15, Thompson 1 0-0 3, Lowe 0 0-0 0, Bradshaw 4 4-9 12, Clardy 3 2-2 9, Milton 1 8-14 10, Kaiser 1 0-2 2, Williams 3 0-0 9, Ashby 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 19-33 62.
Cabot (14-3) 17 11 12 10 4 12 -- 66
Conway (11-4) 15 11 9 15 4 8 -- 62
Three-point goals -- Cabot 6 (Brown 4, May, Weir), Conway 5 (Williams 3, Thompson, Clardy). Team fouls -- Cabot 24, Conway 21. Fouled out -- Vaught, Allgood, London, Clardy. Technicals -- Weir, London, Clardy.
Sports on 01/13/2018