LR Parkview gets tempo to its liking

“We needed something to speed up the game and give us that momentum. The press did that.” Little Rock Parkview Coach Al Flanigan

A defensive adjustment early in the second quarter paid off for Little Rock Parkview.

The Patriots switched to a 2-2-1 zone press and finished the first half with an 11-2 run to take control of the game and defeat Jacksonville 62-51 in a 6A/5A-4 game at Ripley Arena.

After Curtis White made two free throws to give the Patriots (12-5, 3-1) an 18-16 lead with 6:05 left in the first half, Coach Al Flanigan called a timeout to set up the press. Although Parkview did create some turnovers, speeding up the tempo was Flanigan’s goal.

“We were awfully slow there for a while,” Flanigan said. “We needed something to speed the game up and give us momentum. The press did that.”

White, who finished with a game-high 31 points, scored 11 points in the second quarter — including a three-pointer with four seconds left — to give the Patriots a 36-22 halftime lead.

The Titans (8-8, 2-2) attempted to rally in the third quarter, climbing to within 41-35 with 2:25 left on a free throw by Michael Terry. But Jacksonville hurt itself by missing 11 free throws.

A White jumper in the final minute of the third quarter increased Parkview’s lead to 48-38.

The Titans could never get the lead under nine in the fourth quarter.

Joseph Phillips scored 13 points to pace Jacksonville.