NLR wins Rumble on the Ridge title
FORREST CITY -- Any reports of a North Little Rock demise may have been a bit premature after the way the Charging Wildcats performed at Dwight Lofton Mustang Arena.
Ty Frederick had 15 points as North Little Rock beat Jonesboro 57-53 to win the Rumble on the Ridge title Saturday.
Robert Griffin scored 12 points for the Charging Wildcats (4-0), who lost four starters from last season's team that won the Class 6A state title and finished ranked No. 13 nationally by ESPN. But North Little Rock has gotten solid contributions from several during the early stages of the year, and it did so again in its win over the Golden Hurricane.
The Charging Wildcats, who were without Coach Nathan Clayborn because of an illness, used a key third-quarter spurt, fueled by baskets from Braylon Frazier, to turn a 31-28 halftime lead into a 43-36 advantage by the start of the fourth quarter. The Charging Wildcats were able to knock down 8 of 11 free throws over the final period to hold on.
Ja'Kory Withers, the tournament's Most Valuable Player, had 11 points while Frazier and Blake Segars each ended with seven points for North Little Rock.
Chris Stacy had 12 points, and Isaac Harrell collected 11 points for Jonesboro (2-1). Phillip Tillman and Deion Buford-Wesson tallied eight points each.
In the third-place game, Memphis Southwind (4-1) got 22 points from Andre Watson to beat Forrest City 61-52. Davonta Tucker had 13 points, and Torian Mullins countered with 10 for the Jaguars.
Melvin Shaw Jr. scored 23 points, Marcus Britt Jr. totaled 11, and Antonio Jordan ended with 10 for Forrest City (3-3).
-- Erick Taylor