6A-SOUTH BOYS

LR Hall struggles late, puts away Sheridan

Little Rock Hall's cruise control suddenly stopped working in the fourth quarter Friday night and the Warriors wound up having to hold on for a 65-55 victory over the Sheridan Yellowjackets.

The Warriors (12-11, 6-5 6A-South) were leading 51-30 after three quarters when the wheels fell off. With turnovers on seven of eight possessions and Sheridan (5-15, 0-10) suddenly finding its offense, the Warriors wound up having to fight for their homecoming victory.

The Yellowjackets used a 12-0 run to open the final period to get within 51-42 with 5:40 left. Two three-pointers by Austin Morgan, along with a three-pointer and two free throws by Alex Davenport, fueled the run offensively, but it was Hall's careless ball handling that did most of the damage.

A free throw by Tyre Tillman stopped the run but Sheridan would not go away. The Yellowjackets got as close as seven three times, the last at 61-54 with 1:21 left, but on their next three possessions they missed three shots and had a turnover. Meanwhile, Hall, which had just one field goal in the fourth quarter, found enough offense at the free-throw line to prevail.

In the final quarter, the Warriors were 13 of 20 at the line but were 8 of 10 in the final 2:33 after Sheridan cut the lead to 56-49. Dayton Artis was 4 of 6 in that stretch while Marion Goggins and Trey Gordon hit two each.

The Warriors were 0 of four from the field with nine turnovers in the final period.

Artis wound up leading the Warriors with 15 points and Anthony Smith had 14. Goggins finished with eight, Tillman seven and Grant Jackson 6.

Sean Brasseal led the Yellowjackets with 18 points. Off the bench, Alex Davenport added 13 points and Seth Strange scored 11. Morgan had nine.

Aside from outscoring the Warriors 26-15 in the fourth quarter, Sheridan also played well early. After trailing 7-6 in the first quarter, they built a 13-10 lead going into the second period. That margin grew to 20-12 with 5:18 left on a Brasseal three-pointer. But that is where the fun ended.

Hall closed the half on a 14-2 run for a 26-22 lead. A 12-0 run, in almost a three-minute span, was aided by five Sheridan turnovers and a miss on the Yellowjackets' only shot.

Sports on 02/13/2016

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