NORTH LITTLE ROCK 61, BRYANT 59
North Little Rock Charging Wildcats Coach Johnny Rice walked to the scorer's table late in his team's 61-59 victory over the Bryant Hornets at North Little Rock Gymnasium on Tuesday night.
He shook his head.
"Good Lord," he said. "I'm having to coach way too hard."
There were 27.4 seconds left and Bryant senior guard Romen Martin had just hit a 25-foot three-pointer to cut North Little Rock's lead to 60-56. A little over three minutes earlier, North Little Rock (14-5, 4-1 7A-Central) led 53-42. Rice did not have to be reminded that North Little Rock had taken a 15-0 lead in the game's first five minutes.
Now his work was underway.
"We made it a little harder than it needed to be, but give Bryant a lot of credit," Rice said. "They weren't going to give up. They were, physically, the toughest team we've faced all year."
A turnover on North Little Rock's next possession led to another three-pointer by Martin, this one from the baseline that put Bryant (14-4, 3-2) within 60-59 with 9.2 seconds left.
North Little Rock senior forward B.J. Walker hit 1 of 2 free throws with 6.2 seconds left. His miss led to a fast break for Bryant with a chance to force overtime or win on a three-pointer, but senior guard Calvin Allen's layup attempt through North Little Rock forwards packed in the lane bounced out at the buzzer.
"Our kids kept going, and we almost got there," Bryant Coach Mike Abrahamson said. "A little bit more time, and we might've got there."
North Little Rock took full advantage of Bryant's cold shooting at the start.
Bryant missed its first 10 shots from the field, while North Little Rock hit 7 of its first 10 and the Charging Wildcats led 15-0 after junior guard Ray Fresh's rebound layup with 2:34 left in the first quarter.
"We were a little hesitant at the start of the game, and that's hard to overcome when you're in that mindset," Abrahamson said.
Junior guard Sam Chumley's three-pointer started the scoring for Bryant immediately after Abrahamson called time out.
Bryant scored on five consecutive possessions midway through the second quarter and pulled within 25-15 on junior Deron Canada's rebound layup with 3:03 left.
"Even early in the game, I wasn't feeling very secure," Rice said. "We were kind of playing on our heels after the first quarter, but we found a way to win and I'm proud of our effort."
North Little Rock led 31-18 at halftime after senior guard Jarvis Rick's three-point buzzer-beater.
"North Little Rock is athletic, and they can shoot the ball, which makes them so hard to guard," Abrahamson said. "They also get after it defensively. They're really good, and they jumped all over us at the beginning. Give them credit."
Bryant (59)
Martin 4 4-8 16, Allen 4 0-0 9, Moody 0 3-4 3, Steen 3 0-1 6 Washington 4 2-2 10, Turner 4 0-0 8, Chumley 2 0-0 5. Totals 21 9-15 59
NLR (61)
Dobbins 9 1-2 24, Ricks 6 0-1 14, Duckworth 1 0-0 3, Walker 1 2-4 5, Moore 3 2-4 8, Fresh 1 0-0 2, Fudge 2 2-2 5. Totals 23 7-13 61
Bryant (14-4);5 13 16 25 -- 59
NLR (14-5);20 11 13 17 -- 61
Three-point goals -- Bryant 6 (Martin 4, Allen 1, Chumley 1) ; NLR 8 (Dobbins 3, Ricks 2, Duckworth 1, Walker 1, Fudge 1). Total fouls -- Bryant 15; NLR 17.
Sports on 01/25/2017