North Little Rock remained in first place in the 7A-Central Conference on Tuesday night thanks to its second consecutive overtime victory, 92-91 over Little Rock Central in Little Rock.
The Charging Wildcats blew a 15-point fourth quarter lead, but came away with their sixth conference victory in a row.
"They really showed a lot of grit and toughness in overtime," North Little Rock Coach Johnny Rice said. "We played a lot of guys. We needed everybody. We hit some big free throws. We kept fighting."
Senior guard Jarvis Ricks scored 20 points to lead North Little Rock (16-5, 6-1 7A-Central), which also beat Cabot 67-62 on Friday in overtime at home.
Des Duckworth, another senior guard, finished with 19 points, including five three-pointers. Sophomore forward Collin Moore had 15 points for the Charging Wildcats.
Central (14-7, 4-3) trailed 67-52 entering the fourth quarter. However, junior guard Henry Dudley got the rebound off a missed free throw by senior guard Jacobi Platt and drained a jumper as time expired to tie the game at 78-78.
The Tigers took an 87-86 lead with 1:45 remaining as senior guard Cameron Johnson (23 points) scored on a layup and was fouled by North Little Rock sophomore forward Shawn Fudge. Johnson cramped up on the play and had to come out of the game, so senior guard A.J. Williams had to shoot the ensuing free throw. Williams made it, giving the Tigers a one-point lead.
North Little Rock responded with Fudge scoring for an 88-87 lead with 1:36 left. The Charging Wildcats closed the game out at the free-throw line, making all four attempts in the final minute.
The two Pulaski County rivals face each other again Friday night in North Little Rock. Central Coach Oliver Fitzpatrick hopes his team doesn't fall further behind the Charging Wildcats, who hold a two-game lead over the Tigers in the 7A-Central.
"You've got to give them credit," Fitzpatrick said. "They made one more play than we did."
NORTH LITTLE ROCK (92)
Dobbins 4 1-3 9, Ricks 6 5-9 20, Walker 3 0-0 6, Moore 6 3-3 15, Fudge 3 2-2 9, Fresh 5 0-0 10, Sheppard 2 0-0 4, Duckworth 6 2-4 19. Totals 35 13-21 92
LR CENTRAL (91)
Johnson 8 5-7 23, Platt 6 3-8 17, Richardson 5 3-7 14, Rogers 9 5-6 23, Dudley 2 0-0 5, Jackson 2 1-2 6, Moore 1 0-0 2, Williams 0 1-1 1. Totals 33 18-31 91
NLR (16-5) 19 27 21 11 14 -- 92
Central (14-7) 15 18 19 26 13 -- 91
Three-point goals -- North Little Rock 9 (Duckworth 5, Ricks 3, Fudge); Little Rock Central 7 (Platt 2, Johnson 2, Richardson, Jackson, Dudley). Total fouls -- North Little Rock 26, Little Rock Central 19. Technical foul -- Johnson. Fouled out -- Duckworth, Walker, Rogers.
Sports on 02/01/2017