CENTRAL TURNS STINGY TO OUTLAST SOUTHSIDE

FORT SMITH -- Once the Little Rock Central defense clamped down, the Tigers put away Fort Smith Southside. Central used a 12-2 run in the first 6½ minutes of the fourth quarter to take the lead for good and defeat the Mavericks 64-50 in 7A-Central boys action Tuesday at Southside Gymnasium. The victory moved Central (13-6, 3-2) into a three-way tie for second in the 7A-Central. Tigers Coach Oliver Fitzpatrick said he expects nobody to dominate the conference. "The conference champion may finish 11-3, maybe even 10-4," Fitzpatrick said. "It's a gauntlet of 14 games. It's like playing in the old [Class] AAAAA [conference] every night." Southside (6-11, 1-4) had taken a 46-44 lead going into the final quarter after Andy McLellan made a three-pointer from the left corner with six second left in the third quarter. But the Tigers stiffened defensively in the fourth quarter to take over the game. "[Defensive] stops and rebounds were the key to the whole second half," Fitzpatrick said. "We did a good job defensively, and we found a way to slow down their shooters in the fourth quarter. Overall, it was a good team win for us." A layup by Jacobia Platt moved Central ahead 49-46 with 6:50 left. After a Southside basket, the Tigers then held the Mavericks scoreless for 4½ minutes as they increased the lead to 56-48 with 1:37 left. In the last 90 seconds of the game, Central made 4 of 6 free throws in a 30-second span, then added a pair of dunks by Cameron Johnson and Raekwon Rogers to set the final score. "People will look at the score and think this was an easy win. It was anything but that," Fitzpatrick said. "Southside is going to beat some people down the line. It could have easily been us tonight." Johnson paced Central with a game-high 23 while Rogers added 18 points and Jakaylyn Jackson chipped in with 13. Ike Moore scored 19 points to lead Southside while Zion Releford added 11.

Central High School Athletics

CENTRAL TURNS STINGY TO OUTLAST SOUTHSIDE

Photo Credit: Central Athletics