FORT SMITH -- The race for second place in the 6A-Central is up for grabs after Little Rock Catholic rallied to upset Fort Smith Northside 47-46 at Kaundart Fieldhouse.
Parker Loyd's two free throws with 30 seconds left in the game completed the comeback for the Rockets (8-14, 2-8 6A-Central Conference). Northside missed a potential game-winner in the final seconds of the game.
Northside (17-7, 7-3) remains alone in second place, but its cushion is a single game over Conway and Bryant. Next week, the Grizzlies travel to the Wampus Cats on Tuesday before hosting 6A-Central leader North Little Rock on Friday.
Early in the second quarter, Northside had a 24-8 lead, but Catholic stormed back to get within 28-23 at halftime.
"That first 10 minutes of the game they were hot and we didn't do some things that we wanted to do on defense," Rockets Coach Todd Ezzi said. "But the guys adjusted, stayed with it and came back. We just chipped away, coming back slowly."
Catholic took its first lead of the game on a three-pointer by Warren Heird for a 42-41 edge with 3:40 left.
Northside would regain the lead at 46-45 with 45 second left on a jumper by Jaylin Williams, but Loyd was fouled while driving to the basket before calmly making both free throws.
Sam Hannah scored 14 points to pace the Rockets. Williams scored 12 to lead the Grizzlies.
6A-CENTRAL GIRLS
FS NORTHSIDE 64, MOUNT ST. MARY 35
Jersey Wolfenbarger scored 22 points to lead Fort Smith Northside over Mount St. Mary.
The Lady Bears (21-3, 10-0) are two games ahead of Cabot in the 6A-Central standings with four games left.
Northside dominated in all phases, shooting 23 of 48 from the field, including 9 of 20 from beyond the three-point arc. The Lady Bears also forced 20 turnovers while limiting the Belles to 26% shooting from the field and 3-of-19 shooting three-pointers.
Tracey Bershers added 19 points, including four three-pointers, for Northside.
Northside led 15-4 after the first quarter, then increased the lead to 28-11 on a three-point play by Bershers midway through the second quarter. The Lady Bears' halftime lead was 34-16 thanks to Wolfenbarger's 13 points and Bershers' 12.
Catherine Althoff paced the Belles (7-16, 1-9) with 10 points.
Sports on 02/15/2020