BOYS LR Hall back in title game again

— Little Rock Hall got its act together when it mattered most Tuesday evening.

Hall opened the fourth quarter with a 10-0 run and went on to defeat Fort Smith Southside 49-41 at the Coca-Cola Classic at the Stubblefield Center on the Arkansas-Fort Smith campus.

David Rivers finished with 15 points to lead Hall (11-1), which outscored Southside 16-3 in the final quarter.

The defending tournament champion Warriors advanced to the final, where they will face Subiaco Academy at 6 tonight.

Cameron Adams scored 18 points for Southside (8-4), which controlled the game for three quarters. But the Rebels were badly outplayed in the fourth quarter by Hall, which trailed 38-33 going into the final period. Southside didn’t score in the final period until Adams hit a free throw with 52 seconds remaining.

“We got away from what got us there,” Southside Coach Charlie Cooper said of the Rebels’ fourth-quarter meltdown. “We had some unforced turnovers and missed some free throws, and that’s a bad combination against Little Rock Hall.”

Hall won the game despite the absence of Coach George Cirks, who left for Illinois last Sunday to be with his sick mother. Assistant coach Jon Coleman directed the Warriors, who will play for the tournament title for a third time in five years.

“We expect tough games when we come to the Coke Classic,” Coleman said. “For a while it was like we were sleep-walking, and a lot ofthat had to do with what Southside was doing. They made some mistakes, and that allowed us to go on a small run.”

Rivers sparked Hall’s surge with a steal and a slam dunk to cut the Southside lead to 38-37. Center Myles Taylor bulled past Adams to put Hall ahead, then Raheem Dickerson scored four consecutive points to increase the lead to 43-38.

The Warriors were 14 of 17 from the free-throw line, while Southside was 12 of 18.

“There were a lot of key plays in the game, but [Rivers’] dunk was a big one,” Coleman said. “He’s a toughminded kid, and he keeps playing hard even when the momentum is not on our side.”

Adams was impressive in the first half while leading Southside to a 27-22 lead. The 6-5 junior made all six of his shots while scoring 11 of Southside’s first 18 points.

Adams showcased his ability during one sequence when he blocked a shot, raced in for a layup and made a free throw for a three-point play.But Hall finally slowed Adams in the second half, when it limited him to only five points and Adams made only 2 of 6 free-throw attempts.

SUBIACO ACADEMY 46, FORT SMITH NORTHSIDE 29

Keon Walters scored 21 points as Subiaco Academy (10-2) defeated Fort Smith Northside (7-6) to advance to today’s championship game against Little Rock Hall.

Michael Osepa added 12 points for the Trojans, who outscored Northside 30-13 in the second half.

Denzel Releford scored 11 points to lead the Grizzlies.

PULASKI ACADEMY 50, CABOT 48

Dusty Hannahs scored 29 points to lead Pulaski Academy (6-4) past Cabot (5-5).

Hannahs made 4 of 7 three-pointers and was 7 of 7 from the free-throw line. Christian Armstrong scored 13 points to lead Cabot, which was outscored 12-4 in the second quarter by the Bruins.

CLARKSVILLE 66, PRAIRIE GROVE 39

Clarksville (8-5) outscored Prairie Grove 13-4 in the second quarter to post an easy victory over the Tigers (5-4).

Dederick Lee scored 20 points and Justin Kent had 14 to lead the Panthers.

Logan Huber and Jalen Beeks had eight points each to lead Prairie Grove.

Coca-Cola Classic TUESDAY’S RESULTS Clarksville 66, Prairie Grove 39 Pulaski Academy 50, Cabot 48 Little Rock Hall 49, Fort Smith Southside 41 Subiaco Academy 46, Fort Smith Northside 29 TODAY’S GAMES Cabot vs. Prairie Grove, 1 p.m.

Clarksville vs. Pulaski Academy, 2:45 p.m.

Fort Smith Southside vs. Fort Smith Northside, 4:15 p.m.

Little Rock Hall vs. Subiaco Academy, 6 p.m.

Sports, Pages 21 on 12/30/2009

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