Tigers turn back Hurricane’s surge

There was one moment of extreme displeasure for Little Rock Central Coach Brian Ross on Tuesday night during an otherwise satisfying performance by the Tigers.

Central (5-1) won 65-55 at Central’s gym, but Jonesboro outscored the Tigers 12-0 after falling behind 39-26 with 7:14 to play in the third quarter.

The Tigers missed five consecutive three-point attempts to give Jonesboro a chance to close the gap, but it wasn’t the three-point shooting that had Ross livid with 5:12 to play in the third quarter.

“Those guys had the green light,” Ross said. “I told them, ‘ Every one of them was a great shot. And we’re going to keep taking them.’ ”

It was transition defense, or lack of it, that had Ross ranting.

“They’re so good at running,” Ross said of Jonesboro, “and we weren’t getting back. Just little things, inbound defense. We weren’t lining up fast enough.”

Jonesboro ( 1- 1) pulled within 39- 38 with 4: 01 to play in the quarter and had two opportunities to take the lead before Central rediscovered its shooting touch on a three-pointer by Cody Robinson with 2:50 to play.

Jonesboro Coach Wes Swift said he wished he had called timeout after the Hurricane turned the ball over on consecutive possessions with a chance to take the lead.

“It had taken a lot of energy to get back in it, and we kind of fell apart right there offensively,” Swift said.

Central increased its lead to 49-40 after three quarters, and the Tigers were up 63-50 after a basket by senior guard Corey Camper with 6:23 to play. Jonesboro did not get closer than eight the rest of the way.

Camper (21 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists) led Central, as he did much of last season.

He got plenty of help from two new faces — Hudson Likens, a transfer from Baptist Prep, and North Little Rock transfer Bryson Warren.

Likens scored 20 on 7 of 11 from the field, and Warren chipped in with 12 points, 4 assists and 2 steals.

Ross said it was a step forward for the Tigers, the defending Class 6A champions.

“That’s the best we played all year,” he said. “We took what the defense gave us. We moved the ball well. We set all our shooters up very well.”