LR Christian holds on down stretch
CLASS 4A LR CHRISTIAN 70, MAGNOLIA 63
BLYTHEVILLE — Big shots at the most opportune times allowed Little Rock Christian to take out a reigning champion Friday night.
Jameel Wesley and Ben Fox combined for 40 points, and Landren Blocker scored on a huge basket with 12 seconds left as the Warriors beat Magnolia 70-63 in the second round of the Class 4A boys state tournament at Chickasaw Arena.
The victory put Little Rock Christian (25-8) one step closer to playing for a state championship, but the Warriors had to tip-toe around the Panthers first.
Little Rock Christian led 35-34 at the half — with Fox doing a lot of the heavy lifting with four three-pointers — but got a 12-point third quarter from Wesley to push its margin out to 55-46. The Warriors led 61-48 with 5:19 to go in the game until the defending champions clawed back.
Magnolia (24-2), which has won three of the past four state titles, went on an 11-2 run that used up less than two minutes of game clock. Nevi Tell, who scored a team-high 20 points, hit two free throws with 3:21 remaining to cut the Warriors lead to 63-59.
“There’s a reason why [Magnolia] has been in so many finals games over the past four or five years,” Little Rock Christian Coach Kyle Pennington said. “It doesn’t matter if Derrian Ford is over there or not. When you’ve got a winning tradition like that. … I’ve got a ton a respect for Coach [Ben] Lindsey and that program. We knew they weren’t going away.”
The Panthers had a chance to get within a basket one possession later but missed on a long three-pointer. Little Rock Christian grabbed the rebound and worked the ball around the perimeter on the ensuing possession before Fox drilled a three-pointer in the corner.
“That was huge,” Pennington said. “I thought we shot it really well, especially Ben. We really needed that one there because Magnolia was on a run, and it pushed our lead out to seven.”
Fox actually hit another three on the Warriors’ next trip, but it was overturned by a charging call. The Panthers then answered with four quick points and got within 66-63 on a Tell score with 53 seconds left.
Blocker provided the biggest blow to Magnolia’s burst when he banked in a shot while falling down with 11 seconds remaining and one second left on the shot clock. The Panthers missed a field goal on the other end, and J.J. Andrews canned a pair of free throws to finish things off. “Just a complete effort I thought from our guys,” Pennington said. “We’re playing well at the right time, and hopefully, it’ll carry over to [today].”
Fox finished with 21 points and Wesley had 19, while Blocker collected 13 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks for the Warriors. Andrews battled foul trouble for much of the game but managed to post 12 points and six rebounds.
Jase Carter scored 14 points, and Rodreus Young supplied 10 points for the Panthers.
DARDANELLE 62, BROOKLAND 44
Braden Tanner flourished with 23 points for Dardanelle (30-5), which closed the first quarter on an 11-2 run and never let up in corralling the Bearcats.
Creed Vega and Chase Jordan both had 11 points for the Sand Lizards, who trailed 11-9 in the opening quarter until their burst got them off and running.
Cole Kirby scored 12 points, Briar Allred netted 10, and Tyler Parham supplied 9 for Brookland (27-7).