Bryant boys emphatically ends skid

BRYANT — Bryant took control from the jump and maintained throughout in a 67-44 victory over Fort Smith Northside at Hornets Arena on Friday night.

Bryant (12-9, 4-4 6A-Central) entered the game on a three-game losing streak, and Northside (16-5, 6-2) had won 14 of its previous 15 games.

“This game is good for us,” Bryant coach Mike Abrahamson said. “We just want to continue the process of being the best that we can be.”

“We can learn from this,” Northside coach Eric Burnett said. “That’s what we’re going to do — learn from this butt-kicking and go on. And sometimes you need to get your attention got, and we got our attention got tonight.”

Northside’s struggles were evident early.

While the Grizzlies were committing four turnovers and missing two shots on their first six possessions, Bryant was spurred by three-pointers on consecutive possessions by senior guard Treylon Payne and senior forward Catrell Wallace’s rebound layup to give the Hornets a 13-2 lead midway through the first quarter.

Payne led Bryant with 26 points.

“Treylon is a really good player,” Burnett said. “We think he’s a Division I player. We know he’s going to go somewhere good. He puts a lot of time into this game, and he gets a lot out of this game because of that. We rely on him heavily.”

A timeout called by Burnett coincided with a brief shift of momentum for Northside.

Senior forward Jaylin Williams’ layup, followed by a three-pointer, cut Bryant’s lead to 13-7. A layup by junior guard Jacob Joe with 44 seconds left in the first quarter pulled Northside within 13-9. Williams led Northside with 14 points.

A three-point play by Payne to end the first quarter, and a three-pointer from him to start the second put Bryant ahead 19-9.

“This is the first game all year I felt like our defense didn’t give us a chance to win the game,” Burnett said. “Offense is going to be up and down, but tonight, we didn’t play any kind of defense. We couldn’t guard anybody, but hats off to Bryant. They did a good job and got after us real good.”

Northside was within 1913 after senior forward Noah Gordon hit two free throws with 5:03 left in the second quarter, but Bryant scored six points on its next three possessions to lead 25-13 with 3:24 left.

Payne’s layup with two seconds left in the first half gave Bryant a 32-17 lead.

“If Payne gets going, it’s tough to guard him,” Burnett said. “When he gets in rhythm, it doesn’t matter where he is. He can shoot the basketball.”

Northside was within 4428 after a layup by Williams with 2:15 left in the third quarter, but Bryant scored the next six points to go up 50-28 at the start of the fourth.

“These kids keep coming back,” Abrahamson said. “They keep buying in, they keep trying to head in the right direction. Everything that comes our way, we just try to face it and keep going. I think tonight is a product of that.”

“We can learn from this. That’s what we’re going to do — learn from this butt-kicking and go on. And sometimes you need to get your attention got, and we got our attention got tonight.” — Northside coach Eric Burnett

FORT SMITH NORTHSIDE 56, BRYANT 41

Junior guard Jersey Wolfenbarger scored 24 points to lead Fort Smith Northside to victory.

Junior forward Tracey Bershers scored 11 points for Northside (19-3, 8-0 6A-Central).

Senior guard Tierra Trotter and sophomore forward Parris Atkins each scored 11 points for Bryant (12-8, 4-4).