Another victory for the Little Rock Central Tigers demands yet another Warren report.
Sophomore guard Bryson Warren scored 28 points to lead Central to a 72-51 victory over Little Rock Catholic at Rocket Gymnasium on Tuesday night
"He's an amazing player and an amazing shooter," Central Coach Brian Ross said of Warren. "That's kind of a normal night for him."
Catholic Coach Todd Ezzi has seen plenty of Warren, who played last season for North Little Rock.
"[Warren] is a heck of a player," he said. "He's a good player, man. He was undeniably the best player on the floor. He plays like an upperclassman."
Central (19-4, 11-1 6A Central) followed a fast start by Warren to take command, though Catholic responded to pull within four points just past the midway point of the second quarter.
The Tigers led 18-9 to start the second quarter and were up 22-12 after Warren's 17-foot jumper with 6:15 left. Catholic (8-15, 3-10) scored on its next five possessions, and junior center Noah Wright's layup cut Central's lead to 27-23 with 3:22 left.
"Catholic does a great job of trying to keep you out of the paint, really packing it in, so you're going to have to hit some outside shots," Ross said.
As Catholic pulled close, Central began a run of its own. The Rockets had no answer as Central scored on seven of its final nine first-half possessions.
A layup and two free throws by Warren in the final 26 seconds gave the Tigers a 37-23 halftime lead.
"That was big," Ross said. "Catholic was right there. We needed that."
Warren had 20 first-half points.
Senior guard Corey Camper scored 15 points for Central and freshman forward Annor Boateng added 11.
Junior guard Jack Porter scored 12 points to lead Catholic. Junior guard Ben Biernat scored 11.
"They're tough," Ezzi said. "They have a lot of guys who can drive to the hole. They're good. They have a lot of talent."
Porter, who Ezzi said has seen added playing time because of covid-19 quarantines, hit his final of four three-pointers to get Catholic within 50-34 with 3:12 left in the third quarter.
Central replied with an eight-point run to pull away.
"Bryson is our leading scorer, but I think what really makes us dangerous is that we really have six guys who can all put up a whole bunch of points on a given night," Ross said. "From night to night, we find what the defense takes away. We really play unselfish, and we're willing to take what they give us."