Nettleton clutch at the line in fourth quarter

5A-EAST GIRLS

NETTLETON 52, WEST MEMPHIS 46

WEST MEMPHIS — Senior point guard Briley Pena made 5 of 7 free throws down the stretch to lead the Nettleton girls to a 52-46 victory over West Memphis on Friday night.

Pena and teammate Wakiryah Daniels combined for 33 points, including 17 of Nettleton’s 21 fourth-quarter points.

“It’s all about guard play with us,” said Nettleton Coach Jason Smith. “This is the smallest team I’ve had in 23 years of coaching. We have some girls who want to control the ball toward the end of the game, and they’ve got the experience and the leadership we need.”

After falling behind 8-0, the Lady Raiders (10-4, 1-2 5A-East) chipped away and took control of the final minutes of the second quarter to take a 22-16 lead at halftime.

Nettleton held West Memphis (5-5, 0-3) to two field goals in the final 10:18 of the first half.

West Memphis enjoyed another hot start to begin the third quarter as it stormed back to take a 26-25 lead on a rebound basket by freshman Aniyah Price.

The Lady Devils’ top inside presence, sophomore center Clemisha Prackett, picked up her fourth foul and exited with 4:52 to play in the third quarter.

The hosts still managed to take a 34-30 lead after sophomore point guard Janiyah Tucker stole a pass and converted it into a layup with 1:34 to play in the quarter. Tucker, who led all players with 23 points, scored 10 in the third, but she was afforded only one more basket the rest of the game and fouled out with 1:36 left in the contest.

That’s when Pena made her presence at the free-throw line where she made 3 of 4 in the final 20 seconds to seal the Lady Raiders’ victory.

Pena’s 17 points paced the Nettleton attack, while Daniels added 16.

BOYS

WEST MEMPHIS 57, NETTLETON 55

West Memphis battled back from a 13-point deficit after three quarters to record the victory over Nettleton.

Down 47-34 to start the fourth quarter, the Blue Devils (6-7, 2-1 5A-East) scored the first five points of the quarter on a three-pointer by Selah Robins and two free throws from Calvin Butler.

Another Robins three-pointer with 4:28 left in the game sliced the Nettleton lead to 49-48.

Nettleton (6-9, 0-3) went cold, going scoreless from the field in the fourth quarter until Israel Malone squirmed inside for a layup with 21 seconds left.

The Blue Devils took their first lead of the game on a 15-foot jumper from senior Kam Barnes, who led all scorers with 14 points, with 1:49 left in the final quarter.

Barnes tipped in a missed shot moments later to give his team a 56-53 lead.

Malone’s layup got the Raiders closer in cutting the West Memphis deficit to 56-55.

Barnes split a pair of free throws with 7.8 seconds to play to make it 57-55.

Jordan Mitchell, a senior point guard, was held scoreless in the third quarter, but he finished with 12 points for West Memphis.

J.T. Turner scored 13 for Nettleton while Brandon Anderson tallied 12.