Conway ekes out victory at Bryant

BRYANT -- Five days short of the start of the Class 7A boys state tournament, there was already a playoff atmosphere in place. Sophomore guard Caleb London scored 17 points to help lead the Conway Wampus Cats to a 55-50 victory over the Bryant Hornets on Friday night. The victory earned Conway (17-9, 8-6 7A-Central) a No. 3 seed in the state tournament, scheduled to start Wednesday at North Little Rock High. With the loss, Bryant (16-11, 7-7) qualified as a No. 4 seed. "You go to a tough environment and you're able to get a win, it's always big going into the tournament," Conway Coach Brian "Salty" Longing said. "I'm not sure who we're getting yet, but whoever we get, it will be a very tough opponent." Conway led by as much as 32-19 in the first half, but Bryant battled back to take a 47-46 lead after senior forward Sam Chumley hit two free throws with 4:31 left in the fourth quarter. "We played really hard, we fought back," said Bryant Coach Mike Abrahamson said. "But Conway just, tonight, shot the ball really well. They rebounded the ball really well. It was just a lot for my guys, with them coming at us in so many ways. It was tough to deal with." Free throws by junior guard Terry Clardy and London gave Conway a 49-47 lead, but Bryant was within 51-50 after sophomore guard Khalen Robinson hit two free throws with 2:34 left. A layup by London gave Conway a 53-50 lead with 1:42 left, but missed free throws thereafter by Conway helped give Bryant three consecutive possessions with a chance to tie with a three-pointer, but two shots missed and a cross-court pass flew out of bounds for Bryant. "You have to give some credit to their defense for those shots not falling down," Abrahamson said. "But that's what we have to do. We have to shoot the ball well." Junior guard Christian Williams completed the scoring with two free throws to give Conway its final margin with 4.1 seconds left. "We gave them several opportunities," Longing said. "That's been an issue for us this year. We're not a very good free-throw-shooting team, but Christian stepped up and got two to drop and gave us a win."

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Conway High School Athletics

CONWAY EKES OUT VICTORY AT BRYANT

PETE PERKINS

Arkansas Online | 2/24/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Conway Athletics