After holding Jonesboro scoreless for more than seven minutes and scoring nine unanswered points to start the third quarter, Little Rock Central had its first lead of the night and the No. 1 Tigers were showing their teeth.
That's when the Hurricane's championship mettle kicked in.
Vital buckets late in the third quarter and early in the fourth jump-started No. 4 Jonesboro after a sluggish stretch, helping the Hurricane pull away from the Tigers and secure a 53-44 victory Friday night in Little Rock. Jonesboro's Deion Buford-Wesson backed up a 25-point outing earlier in the week at Conway, scoring a game-high 31 against the Tigers and pushing the Hurricane into first place in the 6A-Central Conference.
"We have two guards that can really go get points ... and right now, Deion's hot," Jonesboro Coach Wes Swift said. "We did a really good job during the fourth quarter of getting him the ball time after time in foul situations and not let anybody else get to the free-throw line because he was wearing it out."
The Hurricane led 29-21 at halftime, but Little Rock Central (20-4, 5-1) chipped away at its deficit, getting seven of nine third-quarter points from senior guard Savaughn Smith.
After the Tigers went ahead 30-29, Buford-Wesson knocked down a free-throw line jumper to put Jonesboro (20-3, 5-1) back in front going into the fourth. Isaac Harrell then drilled a corner three-pointer right in front of the Hurricane bench, not a minute into the fourth quarter, and order was restored for the two-time reigning 5A state champions.
"It's a mental toughness thing," Swift said. "It can get into your head like, 'Oh, are we ever going to score the ball?' "
Central stayed within a couple of possessions of the visitors nearly the entire fourth quarter but could never grab the lead again.
That the Tigers had to fight their way back was the product of a challenging start for the hosts. Central trailed 9-0 within the first 3:30 and was down 18-8 after a quarter, with Jonesboro dominating the offensive glass while also frustrating the Tigers with physicality.
"We just have to adjust to the way the game is being called earlier," Central Coach Brian Ross said. "They let it play physical and there's no problem with that. ... Once we did [adjust], we were fine, and it came down to just needing players to step up and make shots."
Although the Hurricane and Tigers have gotten to know each other plenty over the past three years -- alternating between their respective home floors during non-conference play -- Friday was the first of two regular-season meetings as 6A-Central foes.
With state playoffs looming in just more than a month, neither coach was complaining about getting a taste of a big-time, late-season battle.
"There's not one team in this conference you can take a night off on and win," Swift said.
GIRLS
LR CENTRAL 62,
JONESBORO 47
The trio of Kiaya Davis, Jordan Marshall and Taylor Day-Davis combined for 42 of Little Rock Central's 62 points, pushing the Tigers past Jonesboro.
Central (13-9, 4-2) led 23-15 at halftime and pushed its advantage to double figures in the third quarter before a strong push from the visitors pulled Jonesboro (8-13, 1-5) as close as eight at 48-40 early in the fourth quarter.
Davis scored all 16 of her points in the second half for the Tigers while Marshall and Day-Davis each scored nine of their 13 after halftime. Hurricane senior Bramiya Johnson poured in 20 of her game-high 22 points in the second half but couldn't will Jonesboro to a comeback win.
Annor Boateng (left) puts up a shot for Little Rock Central during Friday’s 6A-Central game against Jonesboro. More photos at arkansasonline.com/128bball/ (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Colin Murphey)Gallery: HS Basketball: LR Central vs Jonesboro
