Hall slips past Parkview by controlling the tempo
Little Rock Hall finally got the monkey off its back against cross-town nemesis Little Rock Parkview.
The Warriors took over down the stretch and got 22 points and 8 rebounds from junior forward Greg Johnson to slip past the Patriots 60-56 in 6A/5A-4 Conference game at a packed George Cirks Arena on Friday night.
Senior guard Jonathan Coleman and senior center Kevon Cooper each had 11 points for Hall (15-5, 4-3), which had lost nine of the past 10 meetings with their rivals before getting a much-needed victory in front of a raucous crowd.
“This is one of toughest rivalries in the state,” Hall Coach Jon Coleman said. “The thing is, in order for it to be a rivalry, both teams have to win, and they’ve been getting the best of us as of late. But I’m just so pleased with the guys’ effort in this one.
“I thought that first game this year against them was a fluke, to be honest with you, but the Warrior team that showed up tonight, that’s the team that we’re accustomed to seeing.”
Hall shot 72 percent (18 of 25) from the floor while showing a great deal of patience and controlled the tempo for the majority of the game. Parkview (13-6, 5-2) was just 19-of-44 shooting (43 percent) and turned the ball over 12 times in the second half.
“There wasn’t much room for error on our part,” Parkview Coach Al Flanigan said. “Hall spread us out and made shots, but our biggest problem was that we couldn’t get anything going for our All-American inside.”
The All-American that Flanigan was alluding to was University of Arkansas, Fayetteville commit Ethan Henderson, who had just 4 points and 2 rebounds while battling foul trouble. Senior guard Rod Terry had a game-high 20 points.
Hall held a narrow 34-32 lead at halftime behind Johnson’s 15 points, but the teams were tied at 43-43 heading into the fourth quarter.