Catholic lets lead, game slip

Saturday, February 2, 2013

— Little Rock Catholic couldn’t compete for all four quarters.

Benow Stevenson scored 13 points, including 11 in the second half, and Fort Smith Northside dominated the fourth quarter Friday night in a 51-37 victory over Catholic at the Rockets’ gymnasium.

Catholic (2-12, 1-6) led 21-19 at halftime, and the Rockets outscored Northside 9-2 to start the second half, spurred by Mitchell Luther’s three pointer.

The Rockets kept increasing the lead even as the Grizzlies started applying full court pressure. A layup by Seth Wilson gave Catholic a 30-21 lead with 2:30 remaining in the quarter.

But Northside (14-8, 6-2) closed to within 34-28 after three quarters when Chris Eckes converted a deep three pointer, and the fourth quarter was dominated by the Grizzlies.

Northside, intensifying its full-court pressure, outscored Catholic 13-0 and held the Rockets scoreless for five minutes to secure the victory.

Northside outscored Catholic 23-3 in the final quarter.

“We stepped up our defense,” Northside Coach Eric Burnett said. “It wasn’t our offense. It was moving our feet and getting easy buckets off the press.”

Northside forced turnovers on Catholic’s first three possessions in the fourth quarter. Stevenson converted a hook shot in the paint that tied it 34-34 with 6:08 remaining, then made a three-pointer to give the Grizzlies their first lead since late in the second quarter.

Shakari Jones scored 12 points for Northside, and Eckes added 11 points. Luther finished with a game-high 18 points for Catholic.

Sports, Pages 24 on 02/02/2013