North Little Rock was efficient in its second victory over its biggest rival this season.
The Charging Wildcats started the second half of its 6A-Central Conference schedule with a 71-60 victory over Little Rock Central at Charging Wildcat Arena in North Little Rock.
North Little Rock (18-5) improved to 6-2 in the 6A-Central and is tied with Conway for second place. The Charging Wildcats host Conway on Tuesday.
On Friday, the Charging Wildcats -- who also defeated the Tigers 67-63 in overtime Jan. 5 in Little Rock -- shot 65 percent (26 of 40) from the floor. They knocked down seven three-pointers, including four in the first half on their way to a 34-28 halftime lead.
"We shared the ball and made shots," North Little Rock Coach Johnny Rice said. "We had a week to prepare, just like they did. The stuff we worked on, they brought it on the floor, and you could see it out there."
Senior forward Collin Moore led the Charging Wildcats with 19 points. Junior guard Spencer Simes scored 18 points.
"They were attacking the rim the whole time," Rice said. "They were relentless."
The Tigers (14-6, 4-4), whose four-game winning streak ended Friday, were led by senior forward Rajhon McIntosh's 21 points. Senior guard A.J. Williams finished with 19 points.
Central cut the lead to 38-34 in the third quarter on McIntosh's layup, but North Little Rock stretched its lead to 47-38 with 3:52 remaining in the third quarter with senior guard Shawn Fudge's three-pointer.
North Little Rock entered the fourth quarter with a 55-45 lead and extended its advantage to 60-45. Central pulled within 60-51 with 4:35 left to play on Williams' three-pointer.
That was as close as Central would get, as North Little Rock sophomore guard D.J. Smith scored the next five points, including his team's seventh three-pointer to give the Charging Wildcats another double-digit lead, 65-51, with more than three minutes left.
"It doesn't surprise me for him to do that," Rice said. "D.J. is a sophomore, but he's played a lot. He makes us better, for sure."
Despite the Tigers shooting 51.1 percent (22 of 43), Coach Brian Ross lamented his team's defensive effort.
"The second half, we lost our way on defense," Ross said. "That's what we usually hang our hat on. I felt like we were scoring well enough to win, but we weren't getting enough stops to win."
Sports on 02/02/2019