Duckworth, NLR turn away Bryant

BRYANT — Des Duckworth had the answer for the North Little Rock boys Tuesday night.

The senior guard made buzzer- beating shots ending the first half and the third quarter to help the Charging Wildcats earn the 7A- Central Conference’s No. 1 seed with a 70- 61 victory over Bryant.

Duckworth, who transferred from Bryant before his sophomore year, hit a jumper to give North Little Rock a 3427 halftime lead and got a tipin off sophomore guard Decorey Watkins’ missed basket at the end of the third quarter to stretch the Charging Wildcats’ lead to 48- 43.

“He’s a great catch-andshoot guy,” North Little Rock Coach Johnny Rice said of Duckworth, who had 10 points Tuesday. “He makes shots. He did it Friday night [ 18 points against Fort Smith Northside], and he did it again tonight.”

North Little Rock ( 22- 5, 12- 1 7A- Central) will be a top seed in next week’s Class 7A state tournament at Van Buren, one year after missing the tournament. The Charging Wildcats lost their first conference game Jan. 10 at Conway, but have since won 12 consecutive.

“It’s the toughest conference I’ve ever been a part of,” Rice said. “You’ve got to bring it every night. We’ve won a lot of close games. You can say luck is on our side, but we’ve made a lot of shots and a lot of big plays. It’s huge for our guys. I’m so proud of them.”

Duckworth was a junior on last year’s team that did not reach the state tournament because of a points tiebreaker with Little Rock Central. Getting back to the state tournament was a goal for the team, he said.

“It’s a big accomplishment,” Duckworth said of getting back to the state tournament. “But we’re taking it game- by- game, trying to win a championship.”

Bryant cut the lead to 63- 55 with 2: 17 left on a three- pointer by senior guard Romen Martin, who finished with 18 points. However, North Little Rock responded, with Collin Moore converting a threepoint play for a 66- 55 advantage with 2: 07 remaining.

Moore led the Charging Wildcats with 16 points. Senior guard Jarvis Ricks had 15 points and sophomore forward Shawn Fudge made 3 three- pointers and finished with 14 points

Bryant ( 16- 10, 5- 8) was led by senior forward Braylon Steen’s game- high 25 points.