RUMBLE ON THE RIDGE

Forrest City goes toe-to-toe in final

FORREST CITY -- Forrest City waited 18 years to win its own tournament, but the Mustangs may consider Saturday's 91-81 victory over North Little Rock well worth the wait.

Junior point guard Robert Glasper scored 33 points and the Mustangs made 18 of 22 free-throw attempts in the final quarter to knock off the Charging Wildcats in the championship game of the Rumble on the Ridge.

At a glance

CHAMPIONSHIP

Forrest City 91, North Little Rock 81

THIRD PLACE

Hoover, Ala. 65, Bossier City, La., 64, OT

FIFTH PLACE

Jonesboro 55, Arlington, Tenn., 41

SEVENTH PLACE

Marshall County, Tenn., 53, Jackson, Tenn., South Side 52

Forrest City (3-3) had advanced to the title game only once (2000) in the tournament's 18-year existence, and Saturday's championship appeared to be an unlikely fantasy for the Mustangs only a few days ago. The Mustangs entered the tournament with an 0-3 record and with little experience returning from last season's 24-4 team that won the Class 5A state title.

Glasper's play turned the Mustangs' dreams into reality.

"That little sucker matched every one of their big shots with one of his own," Forrest City Coach Dwight Lofton said of Glasper, who also had six assists and two steals. "One good mark of a point guard is how good he makes everyone else look around him, and he made everyone look great.

"I wouldn't trade him for any other point guard in the state."

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Player of the Year KeVaughn Allen did his best to keep North Little Rock in the game. The 6-3 senior guard, who had been playing on a sore ankle the past two nights, poured in 39 points, 29 of which came in the final two quarters. Allen also grabbed 6 rebounds, blocked 3 shots and handed out 3 assists.

The Mustangs' 6-3 LaMontrell Randle, who was selected as the tournament's MVP, added 14 points and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds. Sophomore forward Trayan Norment scored 17 points and added five rebounds.

Forrest City held as much as a 15-point lead with 1:30 to play in the second quarter. Behind two assists by Allen to end the second quarter, North Little Rock (2-1) cut the Mustangs' advantage to 41-30 by halftime.

"They had both barrels loaded and were in a no-lose situation," North Little Rock Coach Johnny Rice said of Forrest City. "We were supposed to win, being from the biggest class, and they had nothing to lose.

"They came out and punched us right in the mouth, and we didn't react to it."

North Little Rock, which is coming off back-to-back Class 7A state championships and won last year's Rumble with a 25-point victory over Jonesboro in the title game, got back into Saturday's contest by hitting eight of its first 10 field-goal attempts in the third quarter. The Charging Wildcats tied the game at 54, but they never held the lead.

"We weren't intimidated by North Little Rock," Lofton said. "We took their best shot and then stretched the lead back out again. I can't say enough about the job our kids did tonight."

Allen hit a three-pointer with 40.4 seconds remaining to pull the Charging Wildcats to within 84-81, but North Little Rock never scored again while Forrest City sealed the game from the free-throw line.

Sophomore Jarvis Ricks added 10 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals for North Little Rock. Junior Adrain Moore and Sam Dunkum each added eight points. Dunkum collected seven rebounds.

JONESBORO 55, ARLINGTON, Tenn. 41

Senior guard Marquise Pointer led the Hurricane (2-1) with 22 points and four assists in a victory over the Arlington Tigers in the fifth-place game.

Jonesboro overcame a 22-20 halftime deficit by hitting 9 of 12 shots from the floor in the second half. The Hurricane finished 16 of 30 shooting, including a 7-of-13 effort from three-point range.

Pointer also had four rebounds and two steals.

Senior 5-11 guard Jarma Perkins scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half, and 6-8 junior Jayvon Washington added 10 points.

"We were awful Thursday," said Jonesboro Coach Wes Swift, referring to an opening-round loss to Hoover, Ala. "From Thursday to the second half today, we've taken a lot of steps forward. But you've got to expect that. ... Most coaches know you're going to make your most improvement from game one to the next three or four games."

Nathan Hoover, a 6-4 junior guard who had combined for 45 points in the tournament's first two games, led Arlington with 20 points but was held scoreless in the fourth quarter. Adarius Avery, a 6-5 senior forward, scored 16 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.

Arlington was 15 of 41 from the floor and was outrebounded 23-21.

"I was real proud of Marquise and Jarma, two senior guards who hadn't really played well the first two days, but then they come out and play really well against the best team we've seen so far."

Sports on 11/30/2014

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