ROGERS -- Senior Keyshawn Dorsey did not play the first time Fort Smith Northside faced Rogers Heritage this season, and the War Eagles notched a big 7A-West Conference win.
Dorsey made his presence felt early Friday night in War Eagle Arena.
7A-West Conference
Girls
Fort Smith Northside 61, Rogers Heritage 45
Northside^18^16^12^15^—^61
Heritage^15^3^14^13^—^45
Fort Smith Northside (23-1, 9-1): Jackson 14, Hood 14, Shepard 10, Hood 10, Alston 8, Krissman 3, Banks 2.
Rogers Heritage (9-14, 2-8): Jobst 18, Tiles 12, Giesen 9, Seiler 5, Le 1,
Boys
Fort Smith Northside 69, Rogers Heritage 53
Northside^21^17^19^12^—^69
Heritage^13^14^14^12^—^53
Fort Smith Northside (16-8, 6-4): Brewer 21, Patterson 14, Dorsey 11, Jones 8, Lews 8, Barron 3, Griffin 2, Triplett 2.
Rogers Heritage (15-8, 6-4): Hobbs 12, Hirsh 10, Breedlove 10, Olsen 9, Jensen 7, Coover 5.
He canned three 3-pointers in the first half to help the Grizzlies get off to a strong start, and Northside cruised to a 69-53 victory.
Northside coach Eric Burnett said his team is playing much better and has won six of seven since the loss to Heritage. Dorsey missed the first game for disciplinary reasons, but he finished with 11 and set the tone for his team.
"We started off kinda rough, but we gotten better and better and better each week," Burnett said. "When Keyshawn's shooting the ball like he shot it tonight everything kinda goes."
Northside led 38-27 at halftime and put the game away with a 9-0 spurt midway through the third quarter. The Grizzlies (16-8, 6-4 7A-West) spread out Heritage's matchup zone thanks to Dorsey's early 3-pointers, and that gave sophomore Tevin Brewer room to work.
"That gives my guards a chance to get in there and that's what they did," Burnett said. "I was proud of my guards. They were getting to the hole and getting the ball to our post people."
Brewer poured in a game-high 21 points, while senior post man Dedric Patterson added 14. The Grizzlies used Brewer's penetration and a good transition game to finish 14 of 19 from the floor in the second half, with many of those at the rim.
Heritage coach Tom Olsen said the Grizzlies' early success from the perimeter was a key in the game.
"They got the other kid back, Dorsey, and he hit three 3s early," Olsen said. "They are athletic and well-coached, and you fall behind them late and have to extend out, it's tough. When they made those 3s, we had to stretch out and the Brewer kid was able to get to the basket and made some unbelievable shots."
Lexus Hobbs led Heritage (15-8, 6-4) with 12 points, while Connor Hirsh and Marcus Breedlove chipped in 10 each.
Girls
Fort Smith Northside 61, Rogers Heritage 45
The Lady Bears limited Heritage to just one field goal in the second quarter to pull away for the 7A-West win.
Northside (23-1, 9-1) placed four players in double figures to stay in a first-place tie with Fayetteville. Juniors Alisha Jackson and Maya Hood led the way with 14 points each, while Kira Shepard and Tiarra McDonald added 10 points each.
The Lady Bears took control in the second quarter, outscoring Heritage 16-3. The Lady War Eagles (9-14, 2-8) went more than seven minutes without a field goal, as Hailey Tiles scored on a layup with 13 seconds left in the half. Heritage made just 1 of 11 shots from the floor in the quarter and trailed 34-18 at halftime.
Emilie Jobst led all scorers with 18 points on six 3-pointers for Heritage, while Tiles added 12.
Paul Boyd can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAPaulB
Sports on 02/14/2015