CONWAY -- Conway was in a zone in the second half, putting it at 2-0 in the 6A-Central Conference.
The Wampus Cats overcame a nine-point halftime deficit to earn a 78-71 victory over North Little Rock on Tuesday night at Buzz Bolding Arena.
Senior forward Jakilyn Kaiser led the Wampus Cats (11-3, 2-0 6A-Central) with 16 points.
Guards Terry Clardy, a senior, and Caleb London, a junior, each scored 13 points. Senior guard Kylen Milton had 12 points, while classmate Christian Williams added 10 points.
North Little Rock (13-4, 1-1) was led by senior forward Kylon McCollugh's game-high 21 points. Senior forward Collin Moore scored 18 points, and junior guard Spencer Simes added 12 points.
Conway trailed 37-28 at halftime, but went to a zone defense in the second half. Wampus Cats Coach Brian "Salty" Longing's plan worked, as his team outscored the Charging Wildcats 50-34 in the final two quarters.
London's three-pointer with 3:10 left in the third quarter pulled Conway within 46-41, forcing North Little Rock Coach Johnny Rice to call a timeout. Conway took its first lead of the second half, 51-49, on Kaiser's basket with 45 seconds left in the third quarter.
North Little Rock took a 52-51 lead into the fourth quarter, but Conway regained the advantage 55-54 with Kaiser's layup. Conway stretched its lead to 66-58 with 2:54 remaining on Milton's three-point play.
Longing was pleased with his team's effort in the second half.
"We went zone out of necessity," Longing said. "I don't know if it was really as much a strategy as it was trying to find some way to guard them in the half-court.
"We got a few stops, then we made some perimeter shots. You cut the lead, you get a little bit of the mojo back. We got back in the game, got a little confidence and then it kind of went from there."
Rice said his team's energy was not what he wanted to see in the second half.
"It was another bad third quarter," Rice said. "We've had four of them here lately. They went zone, and we stood around. They made shots. All of the momentum switched, and we could never get it back."
Moore picked up his second foul with 3:47 remaining in the first quarter, but the Charging Wildcats overcame his absence.
The Charging Wildcats led 16-11 at the end of the first quarter. McCollugh's three-pointer and senior guard Shawn Fudge's layup extended the lead to 25-15 with 5:26 left in the second quarter.
Sophomore guard Tracy Steele's basket gave North Little Rock its largest lead of the half, 33-20, with 2:40 remaining before halftime.
At a glance
6A-CENTRAL STANDINGS
TEAM CONF. ALL
Cabot ................................2-0 14-1
Conway ............................2-0 11-3
FS Northside ....................2-0 11-5
North Little Rock ..............1-1 13-4
Bryant ...............................1-1 11-4
LR Central ........................0-2 10-4
LR Catholic.......................0-2 9-6
FS Southside ....................0-2 5-10
TUESDAY’S RESULTS
Bryant 60, LR Catholic 47
Cabot 72, FS Southside 42
Conway 78, North Little Rock 71
FS Northside 46, LR Central 44
Sports on 01/09/2019