7A-CENTRAL BOYS

Northside halts Cabot's second-half rally

FORT SMITH -- The explosiveness of the Fort Smith Northside offense was too much for Cabot.

The Grizzlies used an 8-0 spurt in the middle of the fourth quarter to blow open the game and defeat the Panthers 56-38 in a 7A-Central boys game Tuesday at Kaundart Fieldhouse.

Cabot (14-6, 2-4 7A-Central), which had trailed 43-23 midway through the third period, trimmed the deficit to 45-34 with 5:27 left after Jalen Brown made two of three free throws. But a Jaylon Releford back-door layup followed by three-pointers from Isaiah Joe and Releford pushed the Northside advantage to 53-34 with 3:49 left.

"Basketball is a game of spurts," Northside interim coach Greg Scott said. "We had an 18-point halftime lead, and I told the guys in the locker room that Cabot was not going to quit. They are going to make a run and the challenge for us was how we will respond. The key was hitting the open man, making the shots and then defend on the other end."

The Grizzlies (13-6, 4-1) made 11 three-point baskets, including 6 from Joe and 4 from Releford. Joe made four of his team's eight first-half three-pointers, and Northside built a 36-18 halftime lead.

"I challenged our team after [Friday's 59-47 loss at North Little Rock]," Scott said. "Our defense was outstanding tonight. We wanted to defend and rebound tonight."

Joe led all scorers with 20 points while Releford added 14. Brown paced Cabot with 18 points.

Northside meets city rival Fort Smith Southside on Friday at the Stubblefield Center on the campus of the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith. Cabot will host North Little Rock on Friday.

CABOT (38)

Brown 4 7-8 18, Allgood 3 0-0 6, L. Vaught 2 1-2 5, Walker 1 0-0 3, Weir 1 0-0 3, May 0 2-3 2, W. Vaught 0 1-2 1. Totals 11 11-15 38.

FS NORTHSIDE (56)

Joe 7 0-0 20, Releford 5 0-0 14, Williams 3 1-4 7, Jacobs 2 1-2 5, Norwood 1 0-0 3, Gordon 0 3-3 3, Travis 1 0-2 2, McKinley 0 2-2 2. Totals 19 7-13 56.

Cabot (14-6) 9 9 12 8 -- 38

FS Northside (13-6) 16 20 9 13 -- 56

Three-point goals -- Cabot 5 (Brown 3, Walker, Weir), FS Northside 11 (Joe 6, Releford 4, Norwood). Team fouls -- Cabot 11, FS Northside 12.

Sports on 01/24/2018

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