FAYETTEVILLE -- The Bulldog Classic championship trophy is back home with the Fayetteville Lady Bulldogs.
Little Rock Central entered this year's Bulldog Classic as the four-time defending champion and appeared ready to stake claim to another title midway through Saturday's tilt with Fayetteville. But after a horrendous first-half on offense, the Lady Purple'Dogs kept chipping away, kept forcing turnovers and hit just enough big shots and free throws to rally for a 51-49 victory over the Lady Tigers at Bulldog Arena.
Girls
Fayetteville 51, Little Rock Central 49
LR Central^12^11^12^14^—^49
Fayetteville^9^6^16^20^—^51
LR Central (8-1): Scott 24, Greenwood 8, Barnum 7, Allen 6, Jackson 4.
Fayetteville (7-1): Goforth 16, Holmes 11, Breathitt 10, M. Mayberry 6, Franklin 4, Coulter 2, W. Mayberry 2.
"What I saw in the first half, we got outrebounded 30-12, but in the second half we only got outrebounded by three," Fayetteville coach Vic Rimmer said. "That was the first big thing. We got scared in the first half. But then Sasha (Goforth) went off and hit those big three's, and I thought defensively we made a difference."
Fayetteville had lost to Central earlier this season at Pulaski Academy on Thanksgiving weekend, giving up a late fourth quarter lead. Saturday, the roles were reversed as it was the Lady Tigers who couldn't hold on down the stretch.
Central (8-1) built a 23-15 lead at half and still carried a 35-31 edge into the fourth quarter. But Fayetteville, despite a 4-for-26 shooting performance in the first half, rallied behind suffocating pressure defense. The Lady'Dogs forced 26 turnovers to offset Central's 54-27 edge in rebounding.
"It was kind of a twist of tales from our first game with them," Central coach Michael Green said. "We turned the ball over at critical times, and we missed way too many easy shots and too many free throws."
Goforth, a freshman who was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, scored 15 of her team-high 16 points in the second half. Her back-to-back 3-pointers in the third quarter quickly cut Fayetteville's deficit to 31-28. From there, the Lady'Dogs were neck and neck with Central the rest of the way until finally tying the game at 35-35 before taking their first lead of the game, 49-47 with :41.1 left on two Ashley Breathitt free throws.
A Lauren Holmes steal and layup followed for a 51-47 lead to help seal the win.
Fayetteville (7-1) hadn't won its own Bulldog Classic tournament since 2010 and also snapped a recent tough-luck skid against the Lady Tigers, who knocked the Lady Purple'Dogs out of last year's Class 7A Tournament.
"The mental barrier (against Central) was there. It was there in the first half," Rimmer said. "Coach Green does such a good job and puts the right players in the right position at all times. And they're just such a tough matchup for us."
Bre'Amber Scott led the Lady Tigers with 24 points.
Monticello 49, Berryville 38
Shania Smith scored 10 points and Brandashia Hargraves added nine points as the Lady Billies closed out their Bulldog Classic round-robin play with a victory Saturday.
Berryville trailed Monticello by 10 at halftime and saw the deficit grow to 22 after three quarters before a late rally in the fourth quarter.
Kelcee Hopper led Berryville with 14 points.
Mountain Home 57, Springfield (Mo.) Hillcrest 41
Maly Tabor scored 13 points and Vinessa Daniel added 12 as the Lady Bombers finished the tournament Saturday with a strong effort.
The Lady Bombers built a 30-12 halftime lead, with Daniel scoring 10 points before intermission.
Boys
Lee's Summit West, Mo. 54, Springfield (Mo.) Kickapoo 48
Tournament MVP Elijah Childs finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds as Lee's Summit West outlasted Kickapoo in a Bulldog Classic championship game that was close all the way to the finish.
Kickapoo advanced to the finals with a close-call win over Springdale High and an impressive semifinals win against Harrison. Jared Ridder, who scored 33 against Harrison, was held to just eight points in Saturday's loss.
Phil Brooks led Lee's Summit with 13 points.
Harrison 73, North Little Rock 61
Trevor Atwell scored 23 points, and Tanner Curry scored 18 points and was good on 15-of-16 free throw attempts to lead Hot Springs past the Charging Wildcats in the third place game at the Bulldog Classic.
The Goblins led by just three at halftime but broke the game open in the fourth quarter, with Curry and Atwell combining for 17 points in the final quarter.
Jacksonville 47, Fayetteville 44
Fayetteville struggled with a 36 percent shooting performance and All-Tournament pick Dejuan Ridgeway sparked a fourth quarter rally as the Titans slipped past the Purple'Dogs in the fifth place contest at the Bulldog Classic on Saturday.
Braylon Hawkins scored 11 points for Jacksonville (7-3) and Ridgeway added seven, scoring five points late in the fourth quarter.
Fayetteville (4-3) got 16 points from Collin Copper and 11 for All-Tournament selection Tyler Roth.
Hot Springs 52, Springdale High 40
All-Tournament selection Exavian Christon hit 11-of-14 free throws and scored a game-high 27 points to lead the Trojans to a win in the Bulldog Classic 7th place game.
Hot Springs trailed Springdale, 16-15 at half, but Christon sparked a big run in the third quarter as the Trojans took over.
Carl Fitch led the Red Bulldogs (1-6) with 11 points.
Sports on 12/11/2016