Three-pointer caps Bryant rally
BRYANT — Hero ball has never been a trait of any of Mike Abrahamsom’s teams since he’s been the head boys basketball coach at Bryant, but he had several Hornets come to the rescue during Tuesday’s top-five showdown with Little Rock Central.
Trent Ford nailed a three-pointer with 2 seconds left to cap a frantic final rally as No. 2 Bryant came back to beat No. 3 Central 52-50 in front of a frenzied, huge crowd at Hornet Arena.
The victory allowed Bryant (23-2, 7-0 6A-Central) to complete a regular-season sweep of the Tigers, who watched as the Hornets came back from an eight-point, fourth-quarter deficit to win their 23rd consecutive game.
But what made the win even more significant was the manner in which Bryant won.
The Hornets were forced to play the fourth quarter without leading scorer Kellen Robinson, who went down with 43.5 seconds left in the third quarter on a drive to the basket. The junior immediately began clutching his left ankle after he fell and had to be helped off the floor. He wouldn’t return.
Robinson’s departure did make it tough to navigate for Bryant, which was trailing 3327 at the time of the injury and 41-33 early in the fourth. But the Hornets refused to pack it it.
“I believe in them, I trust them, and I wanted them to believe in themselves a little bit more and trust each other a little bit more,” Abrahamson said of his team. “We just had to [come back] one possession at a time. I know that’s a cliche. Even though we won, we panicked some. We didn’t make good decisions sometimes.
“But you know, I just decided that when Kellen went down, we were going to put the ball in the hands of [Camarion Bead] and let him be himself. And we trust him.”
Bead, who battled foul trouble all game, scored nine of his 14 points in the second half, but he didn’t have to do it alone. Drake Fowler scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, including eight during the first four minutes of the period. Ford tossed in 11 points and Robinson finished with 10 points before exiting.
Annor Boateng had 21 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks and 4 steals for Central (205, 5-2). C.J. Washington also had 12 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks for the Tigers.
The teams seemingly took turns dominating defensively in the first half.
Bryant didn’t allow Central to do much in the opening quarter. The Tigers were 3-of-9 shooting (33.3%) and committed four turnovers through the first eight minutes. Those numbers helped the Hornets, who closed out the quarter on a 7-0 run, to take a 16-6 lead into the second quarter.
But Central flipped things considerably afterwards. The Tigers began harassing the Hornets on defense so much that Bryant missed all 10 of its shots in the quarter. The only points the Hornets scored in the second quarter came on a free throw from Kaden Benson.
Meanwhile, Central got a huge boost from Clay Blair, who buried a three-pointer and turned a steal into a layup on consecutive trips to polish off an 11-1 spurt that enabled the Tigers to tie the game at 17-17 by halftime.
Both groups went back and fourth throughout the third, but Boateng began to heat up early in the fourth. He scored five points during a 7-0 rally that gave Central a 41-33 advantage. The Tigers were still ahead 43-35 after Washington’s alley-oop dunk, but a basket from Ford on the ensuing series began a 14-7 charge by the Hornets.
Bryant trailed 50-49 with 20.2 seconds left following a shot by Fowler and gained control of the ball moments later after forcing a jumpball. After a timeout, Bead retrieved a pass and milked the clock before making a move in the lane. The Tigers actually cut him off, but he found Ford open on the left wing.
The senior nailed what turned out to be the game-winning basket.
“I trust Trent, and I believe in Trent,” Abrahamson said. “I trust CB in the first place to make the play. [Trent] works hard, puts in the time, incredible young man, high character. … He deserves that. We trust him and we love him.”
GIRLS LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL 48, BRYANT 41
A heavy dose of Jordan Marshall allowed Central (13-9, 4-3 6A-Central) to sweep the season series from the Lady Hornets.
Marshall finished with 20 points, 14 rebounds and 4 steals for the Lady Tigers, who also took over fourth place in the league standings. Alivia Montgomery added eight points for Central.
Brilynn Findley had 16 points and India Robinson scored 12 for Bryant (1511, 3-4), which damaged its chances with costly turnovers. The game was tied at 28-28 midway through the third quarter when Central scored off three straight Lady Hornet turnovers. Those miscues helped the Lady Tigers end the quarter on an 11-2 run.
Bryant, though, opened the fourth quarter on a 7-0 spurt, capped by a three-pointer from Robinson with 5:45 left, to get within a bucket before backto-back mistakes led to baskets from Marshall and Ja’Kyia Wilson to ignite a closing surge.
LaRiah Hawkins added 8 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals for Bryant, which played the final 20 minutes without Austyn Oholendt after the junior suffered a left leg injury in the second quarter. The Lady Hornets shot 14 of 39 (35.9%), while Central was 21 of 49 (42.9%).