Southside slides by Catholic

FORT SMITH -- Getting the season's first 7A-Central victory is always the toughest one, according to Fort Smith Southside Coach Charles Cooper.

The Mavericks almost let it slip away but getting a turnover in the game's final second allowed the Mavericks to hang on for a 51-49 victory over Little Rock Catholic on Friday night.

"Like I told the kids in the locker room, 'the first one is big.' You got to get the first one," Cooper said. "This was a big win for us. Hopefully this is a big confidence builder for us."

The Mavericks (9-9, 1-3) led by 12 points on a Dillon Hamilton layup with 3:15 left in the fourth quarter. But that lead dwindled to two with 32 seconds left on a steal and layup by the Rockets' Josh Dawson.

Another Southside turnover gave Catholic possession with 11.8 seconds left. After the Mavericks knocked the ball out of bounds with 2.9 seconds remaining, Southside forced a turnover with less than a second left to secure the victory.

Hamilton paced Southside with 15 points, while Ike Moore scored 12 and Taye Gatewood added 10.

Phillips Allison led Catholic with a game-high 17 points, while Dawson chipped in 12 and Charles Daniel added 10.

Southside led 23-20 at halftime. The Mavericks then started to break down the Rockets defense as Hamilton had nine of the 20 third-quarter points, scoring off easy inside feeds from his guards.

Southside led 43-33 going into the fourth quarter.

"We got some stops and capitalized on them in the third quarter," Cooper added. "Our guards, once we settled down and got our weave going, made better decisions with the ball on offense. They penetrated to the lane, avoided the charge, and dished to the open man."

Southside travels to Little Rock Central on Tuesday while Catholic hosts Conway.

LR CATHOLIC (49)

Allison 6 5-6 17, Dawson 5 0-0 12, Daniel 4 1-2 10, Chase 2 1-1 5, Funk 1 0-0 3, Wood 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 7-9 49.

FS SOUTHSIDE (51)

Hamilton 7 1-2 15, Moore 5 0-0 12, Gatewood 4 2-2 10, Brewer 3 0-0 7, Marshall 1 0-0 3, Thomas 1 0-0 2, Jackson 0 2-2 2, Coleman 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 5-6 51.

LR Central (7-9);8 12 13 16 -- 49

FS Northside (9-9);11 12 20 8 --51

Three-point goals -- LR Catholic 4 (Dawson 2, Daniel, Funk), Southside 4 (Moore 2, Brewer, Marshall). Team Fouls -- Catholic 8, Southside 15. Fouled out -- None.

Sports on 01/20/2018

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