SPRINGDALE -- Fayetteville got the boys' basketball season off to a roaring start Saturday in a rematch of last year's Class 7A state tournament semifinals.
In March, the Bulldogs and North Little Rock played a classic, one-point battle at Springdale Har-Ber's Wildcat Arena, with North Little Rock escaping past the Purple'Dogs on its way to a third consecutive state championship. But Saturday -- in the season opener for both teams -- Fayetteville dominated the entire first half with balanced offense, dominating work on the boards and sharp shooting sprees to build as much as a 25-point lead before intermission. By the end of the night, the Purple'Dogs made a strong statement with an emphatic 78-48 win against the Charging Wildcats.
How They Scored
Boys
Fayetteville 78, North Little Rock 48
North Little Rock^11^8^15^14^—^48
Fayetteville^23^17^18^20^—^78
North Little Rock (0-1): Moore 16, Talbert 8, Ricks 4, Nixon 4, Dobbins 4, Taylor 4, Wade 3, Duckworth 3, Walker 2.
Fayetteville (1-0): Breathitt 19, Willis 16, Carlson 14, Youngblood 8, Roth 7, Hendrycy 7, Finney 3, Barnes 2, Brown 2.
"I thought, in the first half, we did a really good job," Fayetteville coach Kyle Adams said. "That was the part I was worried about because, in the past, you haven't been able to simulate their quickness and athleticism. But once we got the gaps closed down and made it tougher on them to get their jump shots, I was really pleased with the first half."
August Carlson scored nine first quarter points, and Tyler Roth added five in the first eight minutes as Fayetteville (1-0) built a 23-11 lead. The Bulldogs would completely take over and blow past North Little Rock in the second quarter. Soon after a Charging Wildcats' 3-pointer cut their deficit to 23-14, Fayetteville went to lockdown mode on defense.
Over the next seven minutes, North Little Rock (0-1) was held without a field goal as Fayetteville used a 17-1 run to build a 40-15 lead, before settling for a 40-19 margin at the halftime break.
"They beat us down the court and worked harder than we did," North Little Rock coach Johnny Rice said. "We talked about it in the locker room. One part of being an addict is admitting you have a problem, and our problem right now as individuals and as coaches is not being very good and we have to admit that.
"I just wish we would have come up here and given them a better game. We probably didn't help them get better."
Payton Willis scored 16 points for Fayetteville, starting the Bulldogs scoring off with a breakaway dunk and also adding an impressive baseline slam over a Charging Wildcat defender to end the first quarter. But more than Willis, it was Fayetteville's effort as a whole that overwhelmed North Little Rock and impressed the most in the season opener.
"They shoot it so well, and all five guys can knock it down," Rice said. "They're pretty good."
Josh Breathitt finished with a game-high 19 points and nearly added a double-double with nine rebounds. Carlson added 14 and Demaunte Youngblood chipped in with eight for the Bulldogs.
Adrian Moore led North Little Rock with 16.
Sports on 11/15/2015