7A/6A-CENTRAL BOYS: No. 6 Warriors Top No. 2 Pats

Little Rock Parkview’s Anton Beard (33) tries to dribble around Little Rock Hall defender Javon Perry during the Patriots’ 57-52 loss Tuesday at Charles Ripley Arena in Little Rock.
Little Rock Parkview’s Anton Beard (33) tries to dribble around Little Rock Hall defender Javon Perry during the Patriots’ 57-52 loss Tuesday at Charles Ripley Arena in Little Rock.

Little Rock Hall’s boys returned from Missouri with a purpose.

University of Arkansas signee Bobby Portis scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the No. 6 Warriors defeated No. 2 Little Rock Parkview 57-52 on Tuesday night at Parkview’s Charles Ripley Arena.

Coming off a seventh-place finish in the Pro Bass Shop’s Tournament of Champions in Springfield, Mo., Hall (12-5, 4-0 7A/6A Central) rallied from a four-point halftime deficit to hand Parkview (10-2, 4-1) its first loss since Dec. 6.

“The atmosphere at a Hall-Parkview game really stirs us up,” Portis said. “This is bragging rights for the conference. We’re the two top teams, so we wanted to come in and make a statement.”

Parkview led 28-24 at the half and never trailed in the third quarter. But the Warriors’ Roy Owens started the fourth quarter with a three-point play and guard Anthony Black followed with a three-pointer to give Hall a 44-42 advantage. Parkview’s AntonBeard tied the game at 44-44 on the ensuing possession, but after another bucket from Owens at the 5:49 mark, the Warriors never trailed again.

Senior guard Evan James hit four free throws in the final 20.9 seconds that all but locked up the Warriors’ victory.

Owens finished with 14 points and eight rebounds. I.J. Ready led Parkview with 17 points and four steals. Beard, who left the game with 2:13 remaining after taking a hard fall while grabbing a rebound, added 14 points.

“The main difference was that we shot too many treys,” said Parkview Coach Al Flanigan, whose team was 5 of 18 from three-point range. “We weren’t patient.” LITTLE ROCK HALL (57)

Sports, Pages 16 on 01/23/2013

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