FORT SMITH -- The game didn't start out well for Bryant senior guard Rodney Lambert with two turnovers after the opening whistle Tuesday night at Southside Gym. That quickly changed after that.
Lambert bounced back to score a game-high 33 points, including 15 in a key third quarter, to help Bryant pull away with a 66-43 victory against Fort Smith Southside in a 6A-Central Conference matchup.
"He was really locked in," Bryant coach Michael Abrahamson said. "He had a couple turnovers early, but he didn't get rattled. He stuck with it. He showed a lot of maturity staying in attack mode all game. I'm glad it wasn't my job to guard him tonight."
Southside (4-12, 0-4) was able to take an 11-7 lead after the initial quarter of play by using an 8-0 run to close out the period.
Bryant (12-4, 3-1) was able to bounce back after that, using an 11-0 run to take a 18-12 lead early in the second quarter. Southside pushed back getting a basket from Colton McBride to tie the game at 25-25.
The Hornets then were able to take a 27-25 lead into the break with the help of a lay-up at the buzzer from Khalen Robinson, who finished with 14 points.
"There was a bit of a lid on the basket to start the game for us," Abrahamson said. "Southside did a good job pushing the ball on offense. Our guys really needed to adjust to that. Southside played a really great first half."
Lambert and the Hornets took over in the third quarter and didn't look back after that. Bryant was able to outscore Southside 22-4 in the key quarter, taking a 49-29 lead into the final quarter.
"That was an awesome effort from our guys," Abrahamson said. "It helps when you are scoring to set your defense. It started with guarding the ball and limiting them to one shot. We played well on both sides of the ball."
Southside was limited to one of eight shooting from the field and had 10 turnovers in the third quarter.
Lambert was a big part of the offense in the second half. After finishing with nine first-half points, he added 24 after the break. That included 15 in the third quarter and a dunk in the final quarter.
"We wanted to just stick to our plan," Abrahamson said. "We felt like our full-court man defense would wear on them and just keep going. We knew we were going to get there on offense. The ball just wasn't going down early."
Southside was led by Elijah York coming off the bench to finish with a team-high 12 points.
Bryant 7 20 22 17 -- 66
Southside 11 14 4 14 -- 43
Bryant (12-4, 3-1): Lambert 33, Robinson 14, Jenkins 6, Payne 5, Wallace 4, K. Robinson 2, Washington 2.
Southside (4-12, 0-4): York 12, Gatewood 8, Franks 8, Thomas 6, McBride 4, Fonsoofon 3, Mitchell 2.
Girls
Bryant 50, Fort Smith Southside 26
The Lady Hornets took advantage of early turnovers to start the game from the Lady Mavericks and didn't look back after that Tuesday night at Southside Gym.
Bryant was led by McKenzie Muse scoring a team-high 10 points, while Kalia Walker added nine for the Lady Hornets.
Fort Smith Southside got a game-high 11 points from Melanie Rice.
Bryant (12-4, 2-2 6A-Central) was able to build a 22-4 lead after the initial quarter of the game taking advantage of Southside's 14 first-quarter turnovers.
The Lady Hornets scored the first seven points of the quarter then the final 11 of the period to pull away early. Bryant was able to hit 10 of 16 from the field in the first quarter.
"A lot of people who come a couple hours away from home, you get off to a slow start," Bryant coach Brad Matthews said. "So I'm proud of the kids coming off the bus playing well early and sharing the ball. It was a really good start."
Southside was able to outscore Bryant 8-6 in the second quarter with the help of the free-throw line and a 3-point basket from Gabby Caldwell just before the break.
Bryant, which held a 28-12 halftime lead, made just two of 16 shots from the field in the second quarter, which allowed Southside to cut into the advantage.
The Lady Hornets held a 40-20 lead heading into the final quarter outscoring the Lady Mavericks 12-8 in the third quarter.
"The Southside kids were playing really hard," Matthews said. "We got beat off the dribble and put them in the bonus really early. We got to work on that. It's conference season now. We are trying to get as many wins as we can."
Bryant 22 6 12 10 -- 50
Southside 4 8 8 6 -- 26
Bryant (12-4, 2-2): Muse 10, Walker 9, Taylor 6, Russ 5, T. Trotter 5, Martin 5, Atkins 4, Gordon 4, S. Trotter 2.
Southside (0-14, 0-4): Rice 11, Grist 4, Graham 4, Caldwell 3, Graham 3, Harris 1.
Preps Sports on 01/16/2019