North Little Rock had its best shooting performance of the season but still had to claw its way past Beebe on Thursday.
Kel'el Ware had 27 points, 14 rebounds, 5 blocks and 4 steals as the Charging Wildcats initiated a quick flurry midway through the fourth quarter to finally pull away and beat the Badgers 72-52 in the opening round of the Hurricane Classic at Don Riggs Gymnasium in Jonesboro.
Nick Smith added 18 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals, while Corey Washington ended with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals for North Little Rock (4-0), which was 28-of-48 (58.3% shooting and committed seven turnovers. Yet, the Charging Wildcats had a hard time shaking Rylie Marshall and the rest of his Beebe teammates.
The sharp-shooting senior scored in a variety of ways against a number of defenders to post 25 points for the Badgers, who had lost their previous three games before putting forth a gutsy effort against the state's top-ranked team. Marshall had 14 points in the first 16 minutes as Beebe (1-4) was within 28-23 at halftime.
The Charging Wildcats scored the first seven points of the third quarter only to see the Badgers sprint out on a 8-2 run, highlighted by a fadeaway 26-footer from Marshall, to cut their deficit to 37-31. North Little Rock later held a 50-41 lead early in the fourth, but a basket inside by Washington and three-pointer from Ware started a 13-5 spurt that allowed the Charging Wildcats to build a comfortable lead.
Brooks Nail had eight points and five rebounds for the Badgers, who were 19 of 39 (48.7%) from the floor.