NHS GRIZZLIES FINALLY GET A WIN AT HOME

At long last, the Northside Grizzlies were able to get a win on their home court. The Grizzlies led from start to finish as they built a double-digit lead by the end of the first quarter and remained in command throughout as they defeated Little Rock Central, 62-45, in 6A-Central action Tuesday at Kaundart-Grizzly Fieldhouse. Northside (14-9, 5-4), which is now in sole possession of fourth place in the conference after recording the home-and-home sweep against the Tigers (14-7, 4-5), came into Tuesday having lost all three games played at home this season. And with a challenging schedule looming, the Grizzlies could ill afford to drop to 0-4 at home. “I was proud of the way we came out,” Northside coach Eric Burnett said. “Normally, we come out to a slow start and (Tuesday) we came out to a fast start and it gave us confidence. “Confidence is very important to us, and we got a little bit of that at the beginning and that kind of helped us keep it the rest of the game. One of the things that really helped with that confidence in scoring those points was we played really good defense; they had a hard time getting the ball to where they wanted to get it to and I thought we did a really good job (defensively).” The Grizzlies set the tone early, forcing a pair of turnovers which led to baskets, a 3 from Javion Releford and the Tigers being called for goal-tending on a basket from Jermualle Norwood, which made it 6-0. Northside also got a boost from senior Anthony “Boo” Travis, who came off the bench and provided instant offense. Travis gave Northside two 10-point leads by the end of the first quarter on a pair of baskets. “We moved him to the point and there was a bigger guy on him at first, so I told him to attack the basket,” Burnett said of Travis, who finished with nine points. “He attacked the basket and that’s Boo at his best when he attacks the basket like that because he’s so strong going to the basket and I thought he did a really good job.” The Grizzlies continued to be relentless as action shifted into the second quarter. Northside built a 12-point lead on a Jacob Joe 3-pointer. Then, junior center Jaylin Williams had the second of his two dunks in the quarter as the Grizzlies stayed strong with a 25-12 advantage. Central cut the Northside lead to nine early in the second half before the Grizzlies reeled off 11 of the next 12 points for a 40-21 lead. “I thought we did a good job in the third quarter where Jaylin was making nice passes and found guys for wide open layups,” Burnett said. “Everybody was moving, nobody was standing and watching, so I was really proud of the team effort to get this win.” The Grizzlies eventually led by as many as 23 points, 57-34, on a basket from Williams with 3:33 left. Williams went on to score 20 points to lead the Grizzlies. Releford added 13 in the win, which included hitting two 3's. Northside 54, LR Central 24 GIRLS — The Lady Bears continued their perfect season as they led the entire game on Tuesday night. Inside the game’s opening two minutes, Northside (21-0, 9-0) grabbed six offensive rebounds which led to put-back shots from Sara Bershers and Jersey Wolfenbarger for a quick 5-0 lead. After Central got on the scoreboard with a pair of foul shots, the Lady Bears ended the first quarter on a 14-0 run to extend their lead to 17 points, 19-2. Northside continued to build the advantage in the second quarter, going up by 20 with 2:40 left when Tiya Douglas fed Jazz Coleman inside for a basket, making it 27-7 Lady Bears. The Lady Bears eventually led by 24 at the half. Then, Northside led by 30 late in the third quarter, and built another 30-point advantage midway through the fourth, 52-22, when Eriel West made the second of her two 3's in the final quarter. Wolfenbarger finished with 14 points and was a rebound shy of a double-double as she ended up grabbing nine boards. Sara Bershers added nine points while recording four steals and four assists.

NHS GRIZZLIES FINALLY GET A WIN AT HOME

BUCK RINGGOLD

Times Record | 2/6/2019

PHOTO CREDIT: Jamie Mitchell