Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Conway starts run, glides by Harrison
BOYS
CONWAY 65, HARRISON 54
ROGERS — Conway Coach Brian “Salty” Longing said the Wampus Cats don’t have a problem in building leads, but keeping them has been a little more difficult.
Harrison, however, wasn’t given that opportunity Friday night. Conway took control with a 13-0 run in the first quarter, then claimed a 6554 victory over the Goblins during the second day of the Arvest Hoopfest in War Eagle Arena.
“We’re still struggling,” said Longing, whose team had to bounce back in Thursday’s win over Blytheville after losing a double-digit lead in the second half. “The last four games, we’ve had leads late in the third quarter and in the fourth, only to give them away.
“We playing really hard, and we’re playing pretty good defense right now. We just have to clean up our ball-handling and our decision making down the stretch.”
Harrison (5-4) took what turned out to be its only lead when Logan Plumlee’s three-pointer put the Goblins up 6-3 with 5 minutes, 3 seconds left in the first quarter. Conway (5-0), however, needed only 14 seconds to make it disappear as Paul Harris’ three-pointer tied the game and started the important run.
Troy Wiseman had a pair of three-pointers during the outburst, and his second gave Conway a 16-6 lead. The Wampus Cats then had another 11-0 run and stretched their lead to a 27-11 margin after Ridge Scroggin’s bucket in the opening minute of the second quarter.
Harrison, which rallied from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit for a 68-65 win Thursday over host Rogers Heritage, tried to get back into the game and pulled within 32-27 after Plumlee’s bucket with 2 minutes before halftime. Conway, however, opened the second half with a 10-2 run and made it a 44-29 game on RJ Patton’s three-pointer, and the lead never dropped out of double digits again.
“We had some well-timed shots that helped us the other night,” said Harrison Coach David Stahler, whose team has played three games against Class 6A schools this season. “I think we missed those shots in this game. But I thought our kids never quit, and I was really proud of their effort. “
Dwayne Lockhart had 16 points to lead Conway, which goes for the Orange Division sweep with a 5:30 p.m. game today against Heritage. Wiseman had all of his 12 points in the first half, while Kanard Turner added 10 for the Wampus Cats.
Plumlee led Harrison with 19 points, while Gatlin James had 14.