FS NORTHSIDE 67, LR CATHOLIC 50
Isaiah Joe scored 16 of his game-high 20 points in the second half as Fort Smith Northside (12-5, 3-0 7A-Central) pulled away for a 67-50 victory over Little Rock Catholic (7-8, 1-2) on Friday night.
Joe, a University of Arkansas, Fayetteville signee, was one of three players to score more than 10 points for the Grizzlies.
"Catholic did a good job on Isaiah in the first half," Northside Coach Eric Burnett said. "We wanted to come out in the second half, set some plays up for him early and get him going. He was able to capitalize and got going in the second half."
Catholic matched Northside point for point early in the second quarter, narrowing the Grizzlies' lead to 23-21 with 5:44 left. From there, Northside outscored Catholic 13-0 before Charles Daniel hit a three-pointer right before the buzzer, cutting the lead to 36-24.
Northside increased the lead to 46-33 with 2:05 left in the third before an 11-0 run pushed it to 57-33, thanks to five consecutive points from Joe.
Two free throws from Jaylin Williams made it 61-38 before two three-pointers from Joe sandwiched a three-pointer from Josh Dawson for a 67-41 lead with 4:10 left. Burnett sat his starters and the Rockets scored nine consecutive points to end the game.
"They were tough, but we were hoping [Javion Releford and Kentrell Jacobs] wouldn't score that much," Catholic Coach Todd Ezzi said. "When those guys are shooting well and you got Joe, well ..."
Ezzi said part of the problem was playing a team with the speed and height Northside possesses.
"That's a big adjustment for us; we haven't played anyone with both those things," he said. "It was definitely an adjustment for us."
Jacobs had 12 points for the Grizzlies and Williams added 10. Josh Dawson had 11 and John Chase 10 for the Rockets.
Sports on 01/13/2018