LITTLE ROCK — Little Rock Hall’s boys haven’t lost a conference game in more than two years, and guard Anthony Black wasn’t about to let it happen on Friday night.
The diminutive junior guard grabbed a rebound and made two free throws with 1.6 seconds left to give the No. 3 Warriors a 46-45 victory over Fort Smith Northside at George Cirks Arena.
“Sometimes you have to win ugly, and that’s what it was - an ugly win,” Hall Coach Jon Coleman said. “But it was big for us that Anthony got in there, battled, made a play and hit those free throws. He’s just 5-foot-6, but he’s a scrapper.
“And you’ve got to be a scrapper when playing 7A and 6A basketball.”
Bobby Portis led the Warriors (22-5, 14-0 7A/6A-Central) with 17 points and Greg Easter added nine, all on three-pointers.
Joe Dye carried Northside (18-10, 10-4) with a team-high14 points. Benow Stevenson added 12.
But the Grizzlies controlled the tempo from the outset and trailed just once in the first half. Northside relentlessly attacked the rim on every missed shot, with a lot of those coming after lengthy possessions.
Hall, however, struggled to make shots. At one point, the Warriors misfired on eight consecutive attempts in the second quarter, but still found a way to tie the game at 20-20 on Eric Daily’s three-point play with 1:50 left in the first half. The two teams traded baskets, with Dye hitting a three-pointer with 15 seconds left before the half. But Portis tipped in a missed shot at the buzzer on the ensuing trip to give Hall a 24-23 lead at the half.
The Grizzlies continued to work deep into possessions and carried a 39-37 lead into the fourth quarter. A Portis layup and two free throws from Javon Perry allowed Hall to regain the lead with 7:10 left in the game, only to see Dye hit another jumper to shift control back to the Grizzlies.
Neither team could muster much offense over the next six minutes until Easter hit a deep three-pointer with 53 seconds left. Northside milked much of the clock down on its next possession before Dye made his fourth three-pointer with 22 seconds remaining.
Hall had one last crack, with Perry missing a leaner with 3 seconds left. But Black sneaked in and grabbed the rebound before being fouled on his put back attempt. The senior calmly sank both free throws to give Hall a one point lead.
Northside had a pass knocked away as time expired.
Sports, Pages 24 on 02/23/2013