CABOT -- It was the Jaylin Williams' show in the second half Tuesday night for Fort Smith Northside.
The Grizzlies senior forward scored 12 of his team-high 16 points in the second half to lead Northside in a 54-43 victory over Cabot on Tuesday night at Panther Arena.
"Jaylin is just being Jaylin," Northside Coach Eric Burnett said. "Jaylin has been playing really well the past three or four ballgames. He's been playing with more confidence. That's what we need from him."
The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for the Grizzlies (12-8, 3-3 6A-Central Conference)
Williams had eight of Northside's 10 points in the third quarter, then delivered a key offensive rebound and putback to start his team's game-clinching 9-0 run in the fourth quarter.
Cabot junior guard Seth Vance hit a three-pointer with 4:34 remaining to cut Northside's lead to 43-39.
That's when the Grizzlies used a 9-0 run to increase their lead to 52-39. It started when sophomore guard Jacob Joe missed a three-point attempt, but Williams got the offensive rebound and putback for a 45-39 lead with 3:34 left.
"They had the momentum by hitting a couple of threes to get back in it," Burnett said. "That rebound Jaylin got, then another three that Jacob got, those were big plays for us.
"I'm just glad to see us step up and play a complete game."
After Cabot junior guard Jackson Muse missed a three-point attempt, Joe followed with his fourth three-pointer of the game, this one giving the Grizzlies a 52-39 lead with 1:05 remaining.
Northside led 28-22 at halftime. The game was tied at 22-22 with less than two minutes remaining in the first half. But the Grizzlies scored the final six points of the second quarter, including senior forward Anthony Travis' steal and layup with a second left to give his team a six-point lead.
The Grizzlies shot 21 of 34 (61.7 percent) from the floor and made 6 three-pointers. Joe finished with 12 points, all from three-point range. Javion Releford added 10 points for Northside.
Cabot (14-5, 2-4), which has lost four consecutive since a 2-0 start in the 6A-Central, was led by Muse with 13 points. Vance made four three-pointers to finish with 12 points as the Panthers went 16-of-34 shooting (47.1 percent).
Sports on 01/23/2019