6A-CENTRAL BOYS

Bryant tops NLR, claims 1st title since 1989

BRYANT -- If Tuesday night's game was the final contest held at Bryant's Hornet Gymnasium, the home team made sure it left a lasting impression.

Junior guard Khalen Robinson had 25 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists to help No. 2 Bryant lock up the 6A-Central Conference title with a 66-53 victory over No. 4 North Little Rock.

"It's been a long time between titles, 30 years," Bryant Coach Mike Abrahamson said. "That feels good, but I thought we could've played better. But North Little Rock gave us all we wanted.

"Those kids pushed it right at us, and we took their very best shot. It was difficult, but our kids rose to the occasion."

Construction has started on a brand new physical education facility that will feature a new basketball arena for Bryant. Completion may or may not be done by the time next season rolls around, but that didn't stop the Hornets from taking down their league rivals.

Sophomore guard Camren Hunter finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists for Bryant (21-4, 12-1), which last won a conference championship in 1989. The Hornets also got 11 points from senior forward Rodney Lambert and 9 second-quarter points from freshman guard A.J. Jenkins.

Junior forward Spencer Simes scored 14 of his team-high 18 points in the second half and pulled down 10 rebounds for North Little Rock (21-7, 9-4), which saw its chances at victory take a hit on the game's opening possession.

The Charging Wildcats' leading scorer, Collin Moore, went down hard while trying to take a charge at the 7:47 mark of the first quarter. The senior forward, whose head appeared to hit the floor after the collision, laid on the court for several minutes before being helped to the locker room. He didn't return.

"When he went down so early, we were kind of looking around like, 'What to do?' " North Little Rock Coach Johnny Rice said. "But then they figured it out and said, 'Hey, let's just play.' We competed and I was proud of them for that.

"We played hard, played with energy and kept things close. We had little stuff that didn't go our way, but we were in it and had some chances to get even closer, especially in the fourth quarter."

The Charging Wildcats scored the first basket of the second quarter with 7:34 showing and led 15-14 but missed 9 of their next 10 shots. The Hornets, in turn, took advantage and outscored them 20-5 to carry a 34-20 lead into halftime.

Bryant stretched its margin to 38-22 in the third quarter and was up 46-33 with 6:45 left in the game until North Little Rock spurted back. Sophomore guard D.J. Smith, who scored 12 points, completed a three-point play to start a 7-0 run for the Charging Wildcats. Simes' putback trimmed the Hornets' lead to 46-40 with 4:40 to go, but Robinson made two free throws to start an 11-2 flurry to restore Bryant's double-digit lead.

"We're on the right track, but we've got to finish," Abrahamson said. "At times, we played championship-level defense, and at times we didn't because [North Little Rock] puts so much pressure on us. But we also got a great effort from [Jenkins], and overall, we did the little things we needed to do to get the victory."

Sports on 02/20/2019

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