CABOT -- Bobby Joe Duncan scored 12 of his 14 points in the game's final 17 minutes, helping the Cabot Panthers earn a come-from-behind 55-49 victory over the Conway Wampus Cats in a 7A-Central Conference game Friday night.
Conway led 23-12 late in the second quarter before Duncan, a 5-10 senior guard, sparked the Panthers' comeback.
Cabot (12-1) hit 21 of 29 free-throw attempts in the ssecond half to send the Panthers on their way to their 11th consecutive victory.
"I was proud because we started to play some defense in the second half," Cabot Coach Jerry Bridges said. "I thought the defense stepped up and then we started hitting some shots. And we hit free throws, of course. ... Bobby Joe was big for us in the third quarter."
Duncan hit a running 10-footer and a free throw in the final minute of the first half. He also scored seven points in a 98-second span during the third quarter to push the Panthers on top for the first time since the 1:25 mark of the first quarter.
"They've got a good point guard, and he took over," Conway Coach Will Johnson said. "They did to us what we wanted to do to them, and that was to go inside. ... They were effective in getting to the rim, and most of it was Bobby."
Cabot held a 38-37 lead entering the fourth quarter and the Panthers never fell behind again. Conway (9-6) was within 45-43 with a 3:26 to play after a 5-footer by junior guard Carson Petrucelli, but two free throws by Duncan at the 1:43 mark and a steal and layup by 6-8 senior center Matt Stanley 12 seconds later all but ended Conway's shot at an upset.
"That was just a team effort," Bridges said. "And honestly, I thought our defense just got better. If it wouldn't have, we would have gotten beat."
"We rebounded well, but we relied on jumpers a little more than I wanted," Johnson said. "We have to execute every possession because if we don't, they're going to capitalize on it."
Senior Kendarious Smith led Conway with 14 points while grabbing seven rebounds, but he was limited to two points in the second half. Senior Gentrell Taylor scored 12 points and Petrucelli 11. Junior Blake Bradshaw also had seven rebounds for Conway.
Junior Noah Allgood came off the bench and scored all 11 of his points for Cabot in the second half, including a 9-of-12 effort from the free-throw line.
CONWAY (49)
Milton 1 0-0 2, Petrucelli 2 6-6 11, Taylor 4 4-5 12, Smith 5 4-5 14, Bradshaw 1 4-6 6, Stone 0 0-0 0, Ashby 0 0-0 0, Williams 0 0-0 0, Fulton 0 2-2 2. Totals 13 20-24 49
CABOT (55)
Duncan 5 4-6 14, Barnes 0 3-4 3, Brown 3 0-1 8, Gilbertson 3 0-0 6, Stanley 2 3-4 7, Vance 1 0-0 3, Weir 0 3-4 3, Vaught 0 0-0 0, Allgood 1 9-12 11. Totals 15 22-31 55.
Conway (9-6) 13 12 12 12 -- 49
Cabot (12-1) 8 10 20 17 -- 55
Three-point goals -- Conway 1 (Petrucelli); Cabot 3 (Brown 2, Vance). Team fouls -- Conway 24, Cabot 22. Fouled out -- Petrucelli; Gilbertson, Stanley.
Sports on 01/14/2017