Catholic wins, eyes state tourney spot
6A-CENTRAL BOYS LR CATHOLIC 57, LR SOUTHWEST 48
Things are a long way from being settled in the 6A-Central Conference, but Little Rock Catholic took a giant step in solidifying its playoff status Tuesday night.
Catholic drilled shot after shot from long range and flexed its muscles inside when needed in picking up an important 57-48 win over Little Rock Southwest at Rocket Gymnasium.
Beau Kronenberger scored 15 points for Catholic (10-11, 4-6), which couldn’t have chosen a better time to have a strong night from beyond the three-point line. Eleven of the Rockets’ 19 field goals were three-pointers, with Kronenberger hitting four of them. Jack Porter made three 21-footers as well for Catholic.
In all, four different players had at least two three-pointers apiece for a Rockets team that was looking to bounce back after losing its previous two games, including a 65-23 loss to top-ranked North Little Rock on Feb. 11.
“We shot the ball really well, and we definitely needed to,” Catholic Coach Todd Ezzi said. “Jack Porter, Cole Pace, Kronenberger, all of them hit some big ones outside. We spread it out and kind of distribute it between a bunch of guys, which makes it a lot easier when you’re in a tight game like that.
“But we knew we had to come out, play well and shoot it well because Southwest is tough, and they’re physical.”
That hot shooting helped deliver the Rockets a much-needed victory while elevating its postseason hopes. With four games left in the regular season, Catholic remained in fifth place in the conference. But it’s only a half-game ahead of Cabot after the Panthers upset No. 9 Bryant 59-57 in overtime Tuesday and is two games in front of Conway. Southwest (5-14, 1-8), which is set to host the Class 6A state tournament in two weeks, fell 21/2 games behind the Rockets.
Catholic matched the Gryphons’ physicality from the start and never relented. The teams see-sawed back and forth throughout the first half, and it wasn’t until Kronenberger’s three-point play with 16.5 seconds left in the second quarter that the Rockets were able to generate a bit of cushion, albeit a small one.
“Southwest has a lot of talent,” said Ezzi, whose team led 26-22 at halftime. “They hit some shots and made things tough for us, especially inside. Hats off to [Southwest] Coach [Chris] Threatt because he did a really good job of having them prepared and ready.
“But luckily our guys hits some shots, too, that allowed us to stretch it out a little bit in the second half.”
Four of Catholic’s first five baskets in the third quarter were three-pointers, two by Pace. By the time Krononenberger nailed his third three with 2:23 to go in the period, the Rockets had built a 40-29 lead.
Southwest mounted a rally in the fourth and climbed as close as 51-44 after Robert Alexander canned a 16-footer with 1:31 left. But Porter fittingly made another three-pointer from deep in the corner on the next trip to crush the Gryphons’ flurry.
“This was one where I really wanted the guys to concentrate on defending and rebounding,” Ezzi said. “I don’t think we did as good of a job as we could have on the boards, but just to win puts them in a good spot. We’ve got Bryant coming in [today] and then Conway on Friday, so the schedule is not getting any easier over the last four games.
“But I like where our guys are. They’re playing confident, they’re playing physical, and I’m really proud of that.”
Ben Biernat added 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Pace had 12 points for Catholic, which was outrebounded 26-24 but committed eight turnovers compared to 14 for Southwest. Porter finished with nine points.
Alexander led the Gryphons with 14 points, while Emir Siddiqq ended with 11 points. Isaiah Scruggs also had 10 points and nine rebounds.