Grizzlies edge Bulldogs in overtime

FORT SMITH — To the surprise of no one Fayetteville and Fort Smith Northside delivered another classic Tuesday night.

The former 7A-West rivals needed overtime to declare a winner, and the Grizzlies were able to grab a season-opening 74-69 win against the Bulldogs in Kaundart Fieldhouse. Arkansas signee Isaiah Joe led Northside with 19 points, 12 coming in the second half and extra time, and Fayetteville’s RJ Johnson poured in a game-high 29.

“That’s a typical Fayetteville-Northside game, really, from the past,” Fayetteville coach Kyle Adams said. “It’s always been like that. I thought our kids handled it really well. … (Joe) is everything they say he is. He’s the real deal, and probably one of the best shooters in the state as far as I’m concerned.”

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 9-2 lead behind a hot start from Johnson, who scored 11 of Fayetteville’s 17 first-quarter points. His production was needed, too, as starting point guard Collin Cooper was hit with early foul trouble. Isaac Smith also gave Fayetteville a boost with six second-quarter points, and Fayetteville found itself down just one, 37-36, at the half.

Northside extended its halftime lead to six to begin the fourth behind two buckets each from Joe and 6-foot-9 forward Jaylin Williams, who finished with 14 points on 7 of 10 from the floor and a pair of blocks. Joe, though, was whistled for a pair of quick fouls to open the fourth and was forced to sit as Fayetteville made a move.

Down 53-51 as Joe headed to the bench, the Bulldogs reeled off an 8-0 run to grab their biggest lead since the game’s opening minutes. But the largely inexperienced Grizzlies found their footing and scored the next seven points to retake a onepoint lead with one minute, 24 seconds left.

Cooper, though, who starred with 33 points in Fayetteville’s loss at Conway last week, knotted the game at 62 with a driving and-1 with less than 20 seconds to play. He then forced Joe into a turnover on Northside’s next possession to force overtime.

“I didn’t know how we were going to respond to that, going into overtime,” Northside coach Eric Burnett said. “I really didn’t know how it was going to turn out, but I was glad to see some guys step up.”

Javion Releford added five points and knocked down his second 3-pointer of the night to give Northside a 5-point lead in overtime. Johnson scored five points for Fayetteville as well, including a 3-pointer to bring the Bulldogs within two, but Joe and Releford iced the game at the line.

“There’s a lot of pride and history behind these two schools, and you always have a good game,” Burnett said. “I wanted to continue playing them when I moved to the 7A-Central because it helps each of us early in the year.”

For Fayetteville, Johnson had an efficient night scoring the ball, finishing 10 of 14 from the floor and, despite the loss, Adams said he likes where his team is heading. Cooper also scored 19, 12 coming at the line.

“He stepped up and played really, really well tonight. He can really shoot the basketball, no doubt,” Adams said. “That’s his strength. We’ve just got to get him to where he’s more confident handling the basketball in certain situations and he’s coming on, which I’m really excited about because we need him.”