CABOT -- Conway withstood Cabot's second-half push, and the Wampus Cats left Panther Arena with their second 6A-Central Conference victory of the season.
Senior guard Caleb London, an Arkansas State University signee, scored 22 points as Conway earned a 64-55 victory over Cabot on Friday night.
Lucas Foster, also a senior guard, finished with 19 points for Conway (12-3, 2-1 6A-Central), which rebounded from a 74-58 loss Tuesday night at North Little Rock.
Conway led 35-25 at halftime, but Cabot pulled within two points in the fourth quarter.
"I thought we had good possessions and we got stops," Conway Coach Brian "Salty" Longing said. "They're so hard to guard. They're a really tough matchup. It's a really quality road win."
Cabot (12-4, 2-1) was led by senior guard Jackson Muse, who had 21 points. Senior guard Seth Vance scored 13 points, and classmate Jordan Rainey added 10 points.
The Wampus Cats used a 9-2 spurt in the first quarter to take an 18-7 lead thanks to two three-pointers, and they held a 21-9 advantage entering the second quarter.
Junior center Jaylin Williams' basket gave Conway a 29-15 lead with less than three minutes remaining in the second quarter. Conway went into halftime with a 35-25 lead.
Cabot went on a 9-0 run in the third quarter, and Muse's basket pulled the Panthers within 40-39 with 4:16 left in the quarter. But Conway responded with London's three-point play and senior guard Trey Tull's basket to extend the lead to 45-39. The Panthers cut the lead to 47-44 before the end of the third quarter on Vance's three-pointer.
Rainey pulled Cabot within 51-49 with four-and-a-half minutes remaining, but that was as close as the Panthers would get.
The Wampus Cats turned to Foster, who scored and was fouled by Rainey with 3:26 left. Foster's free throw made it 54-49, then he caught an outlet pass from Williams off a missed shot by Muse for a 56-49 advantage with 1:51 remaining.
"It was huge," Longing said of Foster's five-point stretch.
Playing catch-up for most of the game caught up with the Panthers, Coach Chris Meseke said.
"It's tough when you're always fighting an uphill battle," Meseke said. "That's what we were doing tonight from the very jump. It was very difficult for us."
The 6A-Central three-game road trip continues for Conway on Tuesday as the Wampus Cats head to Fort Smith Northside.
"It's running the gauntlet," Longing said. "It's like we told them after we lost to North Little Rock, you don't get to celebrate wins very long. You don't get to mope over losses very long because there's another top 10 team in the state the next game. It [Friday's game] was a good rebound game for us."
6A-Central
CONF. ALL
North Little Rock ............. 3-0 12-3
FS Northside ................... 3-0 13-4
Conway............................ 2-1 12-3
Cabot ............................... 2-1 12-4
Bryant .............................. 2-1 10-6
LR Central ....................... 0-3 7-9
LR Catholic ...................... 0-3 6-9
FS Southside ................... 0-3 5-13
Sports on 01/18/2020