LR Central downs top-rated Conway

A wire-to-wire effort allowed Little Rock Central to hand No. 1 Conway its first loss in 6A-Central Conference play this season. Behind 20 points from senior guard A.J. Williams, Central defeated Conway 65-54 on Friday night at Boone-Fitzpatrick Fieldhouse in Little Rock. The Tigers shot 50 percent (18 of 36) from the floor while holding the Wampus Cats to 37.5 percent shooting (15 of 40). "Our defense was really active," Central Coach Brian Ross said. "They're a great, big, athletic team. We were very focused on what we needed to do on that end." Central (12-5, 2-3) has won two consecutive 6A-Central games after an 0-3 start. The Tigers won 48-43 at Cabot on Tuesday, then never trailed in Friday's victory against Conway (13-4, 4-1). "They were back to feeling like they were before conference play," said Ross, whose team was 10-2 before beginning its 6A-Central schedule Jan. 4. Conway Coach Brian "Salty" Longing said Central's zone defense caused his team problems, as the Wampus Cats turned the ball over 18 times. "All the credit goes to Little Rock Central," Longing said. "I thought we got frustrated and started taking quick shots." Senior forward Rajhon McIntosh was the Tigers' other scorer with at least 10 points, finishing with 15. The Tigers were 26 of 32 from the free-throw line. Central jumped out to an 8-0 lead and led 11-2 at the end of the first quarter, holding Conway without a field goal on 0-of-9 shooting. Central extended its lead to 21-8 midway through the second quarter on senior forward Dajun Brewer's layup. The Tigers led 25-18 at halftime, as they limited to the Wampus Cats to 5-of-17 shooting. Conway used an 8-2 spurt to cut the lead to 27-26 with 4:24 left in the third quarter, but sophomore guard Corey Camper began a 13-1 run for Central with a jumper as the Tigers took a 40-27 advantage into the fourth quarter. Longing said the Wampus Cats lost their patience during the Tigers' run. "That was the ballgame," he said. "We never came up with the turnovers. They scored on the back end. It was the difference in the game." Central's largest lead was 19 points, 52-33, in the final quarter.

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LR CENTRAL DOWNS TOP-RATED CONWAY

JEREMY MUCK

Arkansas Online | 1/19/2019

PHOTO CREDIT: Conway Athletics