Coaches often say whatever they have to in order to infuse their athletes with confidence. Sometimes they really mean it.
Central Arkansas Christian Coach Matt Hall said his expressed confidence in senior forward Richard Karsen was no more than a reflection of Karsen's, who hit the final of two free-throw attempts to give CAC a 60-59 lead with 2.7 seconds left that held up against Jessieville in the first round of the Class 3A Region 3 Tournament at Mustang Arena in North Little Rock on Wednesday night.
After Karsen's go-ahead free throw, a full-court inbound baseball pass from Jessieville junior Carson Hair sailed out of bounds to the left side of CAC's goal. CAC (14-6) then successfully inbounded from its own front-court baseline and ran off the final seconds.
After Karsen missed his first free-throw attempt to leave the score tied at 59-59, Hall called timeout.
"He missed the first one and came to the bench, and I said, 'You've been here. I know you'll make the next one,' '' Hall said. "He said, 'I'm good, coach. I got it.' I actually felt really good about that second free throw."
Jessieville Coach Jared White said he knew Karsen's free throw darkened his team's chance, one that was aligned with CAC's throughout most of the second half.
"That was a desperation shot at it," White said. "With 2.7 seconds left, that's tough."
CAC led 19-12 at the end of the first quarter, but Jessieville (11-13) rebounded to lead 33-31 at halftime.
There were 10 lead changes and four ties in the second half, many made possible by three-pointers from CAC junior guard Andrew Haughaboo and Jessieville senior guard Jarrett Davis. Haughaboo hit six for the game and led CAC with 22 points. Davis hit five and led Jessieville with 24 points.
The inside play of Karsen and junior Steven Massey helped balance Haughaboo's long-range game. Each scored 13 points. Sophomore Noah Futch scored 13 for Jessieville.
Two layups by Futch followed by another from sophomore Luke Baker gave Jessieville a 48-42 lead, its largest of the game, with 36 seconds left in the third quarter.
Massey hit 6 of 6 free-throw attempts spanning CAC's final two third-quarter possessions and its first of the fourth quarter. His last four free throws of the run followed Jessieville turnovers.
Jessieville's last lead came at 59-58 after Davis' layup with 1:20 left, but Karsen hit the second of two free-throw attempts to tie the score at 59-59 with one minute left.
Karsen would break the tie for good 57.3 seconds later.
"I'm extremely proud of our guys for the effort," White said. "It kind of turned into a foul-fest in the second half, and they got to shoot the last free throws. [Karsen] was one we had to concentrate on, and we had a hard time controlling him."
CAC's victory assures it of a spot in the Class 3A State Tournament, a first since 2015.
"The kids have done a good job of getting progressively better each year," Hall said. "They make it fun to coach."