WEST MEMPHIS -- Senior Jarquez McClendon knocked down two free throws with six seconds to play to lift West Memphis to a 50-48 victory over Little Rock Central.
Little Rock Central erased an eight-point deficit with three minutes left in the game to tie it on a layup by Cameron Johnson with 55 seconds to play.
West Memphis (11-9 overall, 4-3 7A/6A-East) held for the final shot, and McClendon caught the ball on the high post and made his move for the basket before being fouled by Central's Joboi Platt.
McClendon had missed the front-end of a one-and-one just seconds earlier.
"I was thinking about that miss, but I wasn't going to take any time shooting those," McClendon said with a smile. "It was either going in or it wasn't."
West Memphis was 2 of 9 from the free-throw line before McClendon hit his winning shots.
With one foul to give, West Memphis fouled Platt with 1.8 seconds to play, giving the Tigers (11-8, 3-4) the ball well beyond the half-court line.
Platt's running three-pointer bounced off the front of the rim at the buzzer.
"That was a big win for us in a lot of ways," West Memphis Coach Larry Bray said. "You don't like to lose a late lead like that, but we held on at the end."
The Blue Devils trailed 21-20 at halftime, and neither team enjoyed a lead larger than three until the hosts opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run, which was highlighted by a three-pointer by senior Ahmere Albert, who heaved the off-balanced shot after a loose ball was saved by sophomore Zachary Byrd.
West Memphis led 46-38 with 3:01 to play, but Platt hit two deep threes to go along with Johnson's layup off of a steal to tie the game.
Robert Harris led West Memphis with 15 points, while Byrd had 9 and Albert scored 6.
Central got 12 points each from Johnson and Platt, and Raquawn Rogers had 8.
Sports on 02/03/2016