VAN BUREN -- The Hot Springs Convention Center will be rocking with Charging Wildcats this week.
North Little Rock used balanced scoring to advance to the championship game in Class 7A after defeating Little Rock Central 67-57 in a semifinal game at Clair Bates Arena. The Charging Wildcats will join the North Little Rock girls, who held off Van Buren prior to the boys game on Saturday.
North Little Rock 67, Little Rock Central 57
Little Rock Central^12^12^13^20^—^57
North Little Rock^21^16^16^16^—^67
Little Rock Central (19-11): Johnson 13, Jackson 10, Dudley 6, Williams 6, Rogers 6, Platt 5, Richardson 4, G. Johnson 3, McIntosh 2, Findley 2.
North Little Rock (26-4): Fudge 15, Moore 14, Dobbins 13, Ricks 11, Walker 6, Frosh 3, Duckworth 3, Watkins 2.
Fort Smith Northside 69, Springdale Har-Ber 56
Northside^7^16^24^22^–^69
Har-Ber^13^20^13^10^–^56
Northside (22-7): Brewer 38, Joe 13, Taylor 7, Norwood 5, Whitfield 2, Perry 2, Forsey 2.
Har-Ber (22-8): T. Garrett 16, King 14, Williams 10, Perry 9, Taylor 3, Kaunitz 2, A. Garrett 2.
The Arkansas Activities Association will announce someday today the times and dates for the finals in each classification, which are held at the Convention Center in Hot Springs.
North Little Rock took control from the outset, leading 16-7 in the first quarter and 37-24 after a 3-point basket by Shawn Fudge in the second quarter. Fudge scored 15 points and Collin Moore 14 for North Little Rock (26-4), which won state championships in 2015 and 2013. Deion Dobbins added 13 and Jarvis Ricks added 11.
Dobbins and Ricks each had dunks in the third quarter to bring a sizable crowd from North Little Rock to its feet.
"We've got nine guys who've scored in double figures and eight who've scored 20 points in a game," North Little Rock coach Johnny Rice said. "We talked at halftime how we were going to do it together and that was huge because you can't key on one guy. That's the biggest thing that's made us successful."
Central got to within six points in the third quarter but missed a string of shots, most of them in close. The Tigers shot 37 percent for the game while North Little Rock made 49 percent. North Little Rock also outrebounded the Tigers 32-28.
"We didn't make shots and we didn't take care of our defensive boards, either," Central coach Oliver Fitzpatrick said. "Rebounding is just about 'who wants the ball?'. They wanted it more than we did."
The Charging Wildcats outscored their Tigers in each quarter except the fourth, when the game was out of reach. North Little Rock's starters received a standing ovation from their supporters while going to the bench with a 67-50 lead with 1 minute, 53 seconds left in the game.
"We didn't have any reason to come out slow but, at the end of the day, they're just a bunch of kids," Fitzpatrick said. "We weren't ready to match their intensity. We got behind and we could never get into a rhythm."
Fort Smith Northside 69, Springdale Har-Ber 56
Shortly after the final buzzer sounded, Grizzlies teammates lifted 5-7 guard Tevin Brewer onto their shoulders in celebration. It should come as no surprise Brewer again starred in Northside's biggest game of the year.
Brewer scored a game-high 38 points in Saturday's win, sending the Grizzlies and coach Eric Burnett to Hot Springs to face North Little Rock in the 7A state finals next week. Brewer is averaging 35 points in his last three state tournament games.
"When I'm in the zone I feel like I can do anything on the court," said Brewer, a University of Arkansas Fort Smith commit. "I don't feel like anyone can stop me. I just knew I had to be a killer the whole time. We had to get this win."
Brewer kept Northside in the ballgame in the first half as Har-Ber raced out to a 10-point halftime lead. Brewer scored 15 of Northside's 23 in the first half as junior sharpshooter Isaiah Joe went 0 of 5 from the floor. Then the Grizzlies flipped the switch in the second half, shooting 72 percent from the floor.
Joe knocked down his first four shots of the second half, including three 3-pointers, scoring 11 points to help erase what became a 12-point Har-Ber lead. Brewer also added an and-1 during a 10-0 run that handed Northside its first lead. Tied at 50 in the fourth quarter, the Grizzlies then went on a 10-2 run to grab full control.
"It felt great," Joe said of his second half. "I told them in the locker room, 'I've got y'all.' I knew I had a bad half, but that happens. I knew I had to come out strong in the second half. I knew we were going to get in a rhythm and get going."
Har-Ber, who finishes the season with a 22-8 mark, was led by Zane King's 14 points and nine rebounds as well as 16 points, four rebounds and four assists from junior Tyler Garrett. Garrett and Joe went shot for shot in the third quarter, each making their first three 3-pointers.
Brewer -- who played all but three seconds Saturday -- then iced the game from the line late. The senior connected on 19 of 22 free throws in the win. Northside shot 30 free throws against Har-Ber's six. Regardless, Burnett was emotional and thankful after the win and feels comfortable heading to central Arkansas with Joe and Brewer at his side.
"I feel like I've got the best backcourt players in the state," he said.
Sports on 03/05/2017