Today’s overall top 10 games
BOYS NO. 1 LR CENTRAL AT LR SOUTHWEST
WHERE Gryphon Arena, Little Rock RECORDS Little Rock Central 14-3, 6-0 6A-Central; Little Rock Southwest 2-11, 1-5 6A-Central COACHES Little Rock Central: Brian Ross; Little Rock Southwest: Chris Threatt
NOTEWORTHY Tigers looking to finish out the first round of conference games on a high note. … Central has been victorious in its last nine games, the longest such run in Class 6A. … The Tigers beat Southwest 82-49 on Wednesday night, with four players scoring at least 10 points. … Southwest is still looking for its third victory of the year after coming close against Little Rock Catholic in its last game.
NO. 4 BRYANT AT NO. 2 NORTH LITTLE ROCK
WHERE Charging Wildcat Arena, North Little Rock
RECORDS Bryant 12-2, 4-2 6A-Central; North Little Rock 11-1, 5-1 6A-Central
COACHES Bryant: Mike Abrahamson; North Little Rock: Johnny Rice NOTEWORTHY These two teams battled just seven days ago. … North Little Rock won 72-64 on Jan. 19 behind a career-high 34 points from senior guard D.J. Smith. … Bryant begins an important slate of games, with Conway, Fort Smith Northside and Little Rock Catholic before ending the regular season with three consecutive away from Hornet Arena.
BENTONVILLE WEST AT NO. 5 BENTONVILLE
WHERE Tiger Arena, Bentonville
RECORDS Bentonville West 11-7, 4-2 6A-West; Bentonville 12-1, 6-0 6A-West
COACHES Bentonville West: Greg White; Bentonville: Dick Rippee NOTEWORTHY West is 2-6 vs. Bentonville since the 2016-17 season, the Wolverines’ first season at the varsity level. … Bentonville has won its last 11 6A-West games dating back to last season. Van Buren, now a member of the 5A-West, was the last team to hand the Tigers a loss in league play. … West has won four consecutive and five of seven since losing to Little Rock Central on Dec. 29.
NO. 6 MAUMELLE AT BENTON
WHERE Panther Arena, Benton RECORDS Maumelle 11-2, 3-0 5A-Central; Benton 6-5, 0-2 5A-Central
COACHES Maumelle: Michael Shook; Benton: Dexter Hendrix NOTEWORTHY Maumelle is playing for the first time since Jan. 12 when it beat Jacksonville 59-56. … Since losing to Bryant on Dec. 10, Maumelle is 8-0. … Benton is playing just its second game since Jan. 5. … The Panthers’ last victory was a 55-42 decision at Pulaski Academy on Dec. 30. … Junior Carl Daughtery (18.6) and seniors Darvis Raspberry Jr. (16.1) and Josh Denton (15.4) average double figures for Maumelle.
NO. 7 LR PARKVIEW AT NO. 10 SYLVAN HILLS
WHERE Sylvan Hills Middle School, Sherwood
RECORDS Little Rock Parkview 12-2, 5-1 5A-Central; Sylvan Hills 13-2, 5-0 5A-Central
COACHES Little Rock Parkview: Scotty Thurman; Sylvan Hills: Kevin Davis
NOTEWORTHY Both teams are trying to stay in step with Maumelle in the 5A-Central. … Sylvan Hills’ only two losses occurred in mid-November when a few of its key players were still playing football. … Parkview has won eight of the last nine times its stepped on the court. … Junior guard Nick Smith is averaging 25.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game for Sylvan Hills.
PARAGOULD AT NO. 8 JONESBORO
WHERE Don Riggs Hurricane Gymnasium, Jonesboro
RECORDS Paragould 1-14, 0-5 5A-East; Jonesboro 10-3, 6-0 5A-East
COACHES Paragould: Jace Watson; Jonesboro: Wes Swift NOTEWORTHY Jonesboro is playing better than any team in the 5A-East, having won its previous six games by at least 15 points each. … Paragould has lost eight consecutive to Jonesboro, all by 15 points or more. … The two are scheduled to meet against next Tuesday. … Jonesboro faces Batesville on Friday and Russellville on Saturday.
GIRLS
NO. 1 FORT SMITH NORTHSIDE AT CABOT
WHERE Panther Arena, Cabot RECORDS Fort Smith Northside 161, 6-0 6A-Central; Cabot 6-12, 2-4 6A-Central
COACHES Fort Smith Northside: Rickey Smith; Cabot: Jay Cook NOTEWORTHY The last four games have all been losses for Cabot, including a 57-44 setback to Northside on Jan. 19. … The Lady Bears own a nine-game winning streak over the
Lady Panthers. … Northside will have a game at Little Rock Southwest (Friday) before returning home for a set of games against Bryant and Little Rock Central next week.
BENTONVILLE WEST AT NO. 2 BENTONVILLE
WHERE Tiger Arena, Bentonville RECORDS Bentonville West 6-9, 3-3 6A-West; Bentonville 10-2, 4-0 6A-West
COACHES Bentonville West: Randy Richardson; Bentonville: Tom Halbmaier
NOTEWORTHY West has never beaten its crosstown rivals, losing all games by an average of 34.9 points. … Bentonville’s closest game since losing to North Little Rock on Dec. 22 was a 72-66 victory over Fayetteville on Jan. 15. … The Lady Wolverines are on a two-game winning streak after blowing past Fort Smith Southside 60-12 in their previous game.
WHITE COUNTY CENTRAL AT NO. 3 MELBOURNE
WHERE Bearkatz Arena, Melbourne
RECORDS White County Central 2-10, 1-5 2A-2; Melbourne 17-1, 7-0 2A-2
COACHES White County Central: Jeremy Cude; Melbourne: Eric Teague NOTEWORTHY White County Central has had 15 games either canceled or rescheduled this season because of covid-19 issues. … Melbourne has a key clash against Salem on Thursday, a team the Lady Bearkatz beat 43-41 on Jan. 5. … Sophomore center Jenna Lawrence scored 27 points in Melbourne’s 59-30 victory over Cedar Ridge on Jan. 23.
MOUNT ST. MARY AT NO. 5 CONWAY
WHERE Buzz Bolding Arena, Conway
RECORDS Mount St. Mary 0-14, 0-5 6A-Central; Conway 13-3, 5-1 6A-Central
COACHES Mount St. Mary: Lauren Lawrence; Conway: Ashley Hutchcraft
NOTEWORTHY Mount St. Mary has yet to win this season but came close on Friday against Little Rock Southwest (lost 49-40). … Conway rocked Mount St. Mary 69-11 on Jan. 19. … The Lady Wampus Cats’ last 23 games against the Lady Belles have been victories by an average of 33.7 points. … Conway is at Bryant on Friday.
NO. 6 GREENWOOD AT ALMA
WHERE Charles B. Dyer Arena, Alma RECORDS Greenwood 12-3, 5-0 5A-West; Alma 6-8, 0-4 5A-West COACHES Greenwood: Clay Reeves; Alma: Codey Mann NOTEWORTHY Eleven of the last 12 matchups have resulted in Greenwood victories. … The Lady Bulldogs are playing the second of four games this week. After having played Russellville on Monday, Greenwood will also face Greenbrier (Friday) and Van Buren (Saturday). … Alma is mired in a four-game losing streak.
BEEBE AT NO. 7 LR CHRISTIAN
WHERE Warrior Arena, Little Rock
RECORDS Beebe 5-11, 1-2 5A-Central; Little Rock Christian 14-1, 5-0 5A-Central
COACHES Beebe: Greg Richey; Little Rock Christian: Ronald Rogers NOTEWORTHY Little Rock Christian would be unbeaten if not for a two-point, upset home loss to Little Rock Central. … The Lady Warriors have won all five of their 5A-Central games in outings where they have been in control for most of the way. … Beebe played well in taking down Sylvan Hills 55-44 on Jan. 22. … The teams will play again on Feb. 19.
RUSSELLVILLE AT NO. 9 VILONIA
WHERE Eagle Arena, Vilonia RECORDS Russellville 10-6, 4-1 5A-West; Vilonia 15-2, 5-1 5A-West COACHES Russellville: Ryan Koerdt; Vilonia: Jeremy Simon NOTEWORTHY The winner will have second place in the 5A-West to itself. … After today, Russellville’s next three conference games will be played at Cyclone Arena. … Both teams will square off again in seven days. … Vilonia has won six in a row in the series since losing a pair of games in 2015. … The Lady Eagles will play away games in their next two.
BRYANT AT NO. 10 NORTH LITTLE ROCK
WHERE Charging Wildcat Arena, North Little Rock
RECORDS Bryant 8-4, 1-2; North Little Rock 11-5, 4-2
COACHES Bryant: Brad Matthews; North Little Rock: Daryl Fimple NOTEWORTHY Bryant hung with North Little Rock for a while in the game on Jan. 19, but the Lady Hornets’ struggles in the second quarter cost them. … The Lady Charging Wildcats are a game behind Conway for second place in the 6A-Central. … Bryant picked up a big conference victory last Friday be beating Cabot 40-37.
NOTE Some games may have been canceled or rescheduled because of covid-19. … No. 3 Magnolia (boys), No. 8 Marion (boys), No. 4 Batesville (girls) and No. 8 Harrison (girls) are off.