FAYETTEVILLE TOPS NLR, WINS TOURNAMENT

FAYETTEVILLE -- Fayetteville-North Little Rock round two wasn't at all like the first meeting, but the end result was the same. Nearly a month after opening the season with a 78-48 win over the Charging Wildcats, Fayetteville won the rematch 69-66 Saturday to win its Bulldog Classic tournament. Vanderbilt signee Payton Willis scored a team-high 16 points and was named tournament MVP, while talented senior Josh Breathitt added 14 for Fayetteville (8-0). The Bulldogs also got key contributions from a number of their more unsung players. Senior forward August Carlson scored 15, senior guard Spencer Brown added 11 and Fayetteville got timely contributions off the bench from junior guard Tyler Roth and senior J.J. Rainey, who joined the team after helping Fayetteville win a football state title. "I think it's going to be something that helps us all the way down the road," Fayetteville coach Kyle Adams said of his team's depth. "We played three state tournament games, in my opinion, right now (this week), so the depth is a really big deal." There were three ties and three lead changes in the fourth quarter, and the game was tied at 56 late before Fayetteville went on a 10-4 run to seize control. Roth had an impressive layup in traffic and a steal that led to a Willis dunk during the run. Willis hit a few free throws, and the Bulldogs iced the game against an athletic North Little Rock team that scored 15 points off turnovers and made it tough sledding for Fayetteville's offense at times. "We won't see many teams as athletic as they are," Adams said. "The first game, they just didn't shoot it very well. That was the difference. We shot it extremely well and they didn't. It made us look better than we are and them worse than they are. I knew they'd come in tonight and play well. And they did." Jarvis Ricks scored a game-high 17 for North Little Rock and Adrian Moore added 16. The Charging Wildcats (2-5) stayed in it by making 6-of-12 3-pointers in the first half and eight total, continuing their hot shooting after making a combined 15 3-pointers in their first two tournament wins. "We're streaky shooters, and that's the reason we were in games and won games," North Little Rock coach Johnny Rice said. "That's got to be a strength of ours."

FAYETTEVILLE TOPS NLR, WINS TOURNAMENT

Photo Credit: NWADG

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