Noah Gordon did not have a great game from three-point range Tuesday night, but the Fort Smith Northside junior hit the shot that mattered most.
Gordon's long-range jumper from the left corner found its mark as time expired to give the Grizzlies a 46-44 victory over No. 2 Little Rock Central at the Tigers Fieldhouse.
"When I got the ball, I saw that there was three seconds on the clock," said Gordon, who had missed his first five three-point attempts. "I made a pump fake, took a dribble and shot it. I knew it was good the moment it left my hands."
Senior Anthony Travis brought the ball across midcourt and found Gordon, who had not scored since the first half.
"I did put shooters in the corner for a reason," Northside Coach Eric Burnett said. "When Travis made his penetration, he knew that if anybody helped out on a double team that we had shooters in the corner and our big guy [Jaylin Williams] in the middle. When Noah got the ball, he did a good job with his fake and then knocking down the big shot for us."
Northside (11-5, 2-0) won its second consecutive 6A-Central Conference road game, rallying from a 41-36 deficit with 4:01 to play.
The Grizzlies scored seven consecutive points to take a 43-41 advantage with 1:20 to play. Northside had a chance to extend its lead with 36.8 seconds left, but Javion Releford missed the front end of a 1-and-1.
Central (10-4, 0-2) worked the ball around until Tigers' senior guard A.J. Williams found classmate K.D. Arnett underneath the goal for a layup and a foul.
Arnett completed the three-point play with 7.6 seconds remaining.
Jaylin Williams led Northside with 12 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocks. Travis finished with 11 points, and Gordon scored 10.
Jeremiah Jones and Rajhon McIntosh each scored eight for Central.
Sports on 01/09/2019