BRYANT -- Defensive adjustments allowed Fort Smith Northside to feel much better about itself this time around against Bryant.
The Grizzlies slowed down the Hornets guards and used their size advantage inside to squeeze out a 47-42, 6A-Central Conference victory.
Junior center Jaylin Williams had 13 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks for Northside (9-5), which lost to Bryant 50-48 during the semifinals of the Coke Classic last week.
"It's just something about Bryant. That's a really good team," Northside Coach Eric Burnett said. "It's always a close game with them. Last Friday, it was decided by a last-second shot.
"The games with them last year were close, and it's always a battle with them. I'm just glad we came out on the winning end in this one."
Javion Releford, a senior guard, scored all 12 of his points in the second half for the Grizzlies, who had a 38-27 rebounding advantage while shooting 14 of 46 from the field. Senior guard Anthony Travis and junior guard Noah Gordon both had eight points.
Burnett said his team had a hard time keeping Bryant's backcourt of Camren Hunter, Treylon Payne and Khalen Robinson in front of them and out of the lane in their meeting eight days ago. In the rematch, Northside kept the damage done by the trio to a minimum. And whenever Bryant's guards did slip inside the lane, they were usually met by Williams, who is 6-10, or 6-6 junior Braylin McKinley.
"They didn't do anything differently this time, but we had to," Burnett said. "We couldn't let them get to the hole as much as they did last week. We ran and jumped them and tried to keep them in front of us as much as possible."
An added bonus for the Grizzlies was the absence of Robinson, who hit the game-winner for Bryant in its victory over Northside but was held out Friday because of an ankle injury. Payne, who was named the MVP during Bryant's run at the Coke Classic, was held to six points. Hunter finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals for the Hornets, who shot 14 of 48.
Northside scored the first 11 points of the game, but hit just 3 of 13 in the second quarter and trailed 21-19 at halftime. The game was tied three times early in the third quarter before the Grizzlies closed the period on an 11-2 run to take a 36-27 advantage.
The Hornets grabbed a 38-37 lead after Rodney Lambert's three-point play with 3:39 remaining, but the Grizzlies scored the next six points, including a three-pointer from Gordon.
"I'm proud of these guys for bouncing back after losing a heart-breaker to them," Burnett said. "That loss hurt us, it really did. But we came in here and pulled out a gritty one."
Sports on 01/05/2019