Pointer sparks Jonesboro

Jonesboro Coach Wes Swift had to draw up a new a game plan on game day. It worked. Playing without junior center Aaron Washington, who was lost to an injury Friday, Jonesboro leaned on junior guard Marquise Pointer in a 65-61 victory over the Fort Smith Northside Grizzlies on Saturday night in the Arkansas Hoops Challenge at Maumelle High School.

Pointer finished with 23 points.

Northside was within 60-59 on junior guard Tyler Triplett’s layup with 27 seconds left.

Jonesboro responded with a stall, but it was interrupted when Pointer drove through the lane and was fouled while scoring on a layup. He hit the free throw to give Jonesboro a 63-59 lead with 14.2 seconds left.

Northside senior guard Jace Richardson put back a missed three-pointer to cut Jonesboro’s lead to 63-61, but just 4.7 seconds remained.

Northside failed to steal Jonesboro’s subsequent inbound pass, and senior guard Kenyatae Woods drove the length for a layup at the buzzer.

Neither team led by more than four points in the first half until junior guard Jarma Perkins hit three-pointers on two consecutive possessions to give Jonesboro 26-19 lead with 1:02 left in the second quarter.

A layup on Northside’s final first-half possession by junior guard Tyler Triplett left Jonesboro (5-1) with a 26-21 lead at halftime.

Northside’s first lead of the game came on a three-pointer by Richardson. After its next possession, when senior forward Alberto Steward hit two free throws, Northside (5-3) held its largest lead of the game at 43-39 with 47 seconds left in the third quarter.