GRIZZLIES GET REVENGE ON CABOT; ROLL INTO 6A SEMIFINALS

Entering the 6A State Tournament, Northside coach Eric Burnett wanted his Grizzlies to get back to playing defense like they did earlier in the season. In a revenge game Thursday night, the Grizzlies were able to rediscover their defensive prowess. Northside held Cabot to 23 percent shooting from the field and the Grizzlies built a big lead by the end of the first quarter as they rolled to a 65-36 win in the 6A quarterfinals at Bryant. The loss avenged a 55-54 overtime loss at Cabot last week, when the Panthers hit a 3-point basket with time running out. “I thought (Thursday) we were a little bit more focused and ready to play and I thought we did really good defensively,” Burnett said. “That was the focus going into the game, that we’ve got to defend, because we didn’t do a very good job of defending last time we played them, and I thought we did a good job of that (Thursday).” In the loss to Cabot on Feb. 25, the Panthers made nearly 50 percent of their shots, including 10 3's. But in Thursday’s rematch, the Grizzlies held Cabot to 23 percent from the field (11-of-46) and the Panthers made just six 3's on the night. So needless to say, Burnett agreed with the belief that the Grizzlies played defense the way they did, especially in the opening stretch of the season. “Yes, I thought we did that,” Burnett said. The Grizzlies (20-9) move on into the 6A semifinals, set for 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Bryant. They will take on 6A-Central foe Little Rock Central, which posted perhaps the biggest upset of the tournament when the Tigers knocked out 6A-West top seed Springdale Har-Ber in overtime on Thursday. Northside won both head-to-head games in conference play against Central, both by 19-point margins. “They are playing well right now, so we’ve got to play good defense again,” Burnett said of Central. Should the Grizzlies win Saturday, they will head back to their fourth straight title game appearance with a berth in the 6A title game, set for March 14 in Hot Springs. In Thursday’s win, Northside broke a 3-all score with a pivotal 15-4 run. Early in that stretch, senior forward Jaylin Williams hit back-to-back 3-pointers. Then with the Grizzlies up 11-4, junior guard Jacob Joe made two straight jump shots. Joe then closed out the 15-4 run with a baseline drive in the final seconds of the opening quarter. He got the shot to fall while drawing a foul. Joe then went to the line and completed the three-point play for an 18-7 Grizzly advantage. Northside closed out the second half on an 8-1 run, starting with a 3 from senior Garrett Keller. Joe then had a 3 from the corner as the lead doubled to 14, 28-14. Senior Noah Gordon put an exclamation point on the opening half by grabbing an offensive rebound and putting the ball back in with time running out. That put Northside in command with a 30-14 advantage at halftime. The Grizzlies continued to extend the lead in the second half. During the latter stretches of the third quarter, they reeled off 10 straight points to build the lead to 27 points, 49-22. Included in that run was Williams driving the baseline and throwing down a vicious dunk. Northside then necessitated a running clock with less than seven minutes left, when senior Maury Owens hit two free throws to make the lead 30 points, 58-28. The Grizzlies went on to lead by as many as 32 points. “We wanted to make sure that we took care of business and we could move on,” Burnett said. “We didn’t want the opportunity of having them come back, so we just kept getting after them defensively.” Joe led the Grizzlies with 21 points. He made two 3's and also converted all seven of his free throws, as Northside was 81 percent from the line (18-of-22). “Jacob came out and played really good,” Burnett said. Williams ended up with 19 points and grabbed 19 rebounds. He made two 3's and was 5-of-6 from the line. Owens was also in double figures with 12 points. Northside also held a 42-27 rebounding edge, including 14 offensive boards, eight of those coming from Williams. The Grizzlies also outscored the Panthers in second-chance points, 16-2.

GRIZZLIES GET REVENGE ON CABOT; ROLL INTO 6A SEMIFINALS

BUCK RINGGOLD

Times Record | 3/6/2020

PHOTO CREDIT: Fort Smith Northside High School Athletics