By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Cabot North and Cabot South played a classic ninth-grade boys basketball game last Friday night at Cabot North. In the end, the South Panthers came back from a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit to knock off their crosstown hosts and pull out a 42-41 victory. South scored more than twice as many points in the fourth quarter than it did in the first three quarters combined. North spent the first three quarters building a 29-13 lead, but saw the lead crumble in the final frame when South began fouling.
“We started fouling with four minutes left because we were too far behind,” South coach Dan Wacker said. “We just couldn’t miss, we did everything right and North missed their free throws. That’s what it really came down to. It was one of the best junior high basketball games I’ve ever seen.” North shot 21 free throws in the fourth quarter alone, but only made 11. South would answer missed opportunities at the line with baskets at its end of the floor.
“They’d miss both or hit one of two and we would answer with bucket or a three pointer, and just got back in it.” Wacker said.
The South ladies also got a victory against North, but in less dramatic fashion. The South Lady Panthers won 44-27 against ther shorthanded counterparts. South took control early, jumping out to a 9-2 lead in the first quarter. North rallied in the second to cut the margin to 22-18 by halftime, and it stayed close through the third quarter. South then extended its lead and forced North to resort to fouling. Once at the line, South made most of its late free throws to seal the win.
The North boys and girls bounced back from Friday’s loss by sweeping Conway Blue on Monday. The North boys built an early lead against Conway as well, streaking out to a 12-2 lead in the first quarter. The Panthers hit a wall in the second, mustering just two points before halftime and seeing the lead shrink to 14-10.
They pushed it back to a seven-point advantage in the third before making a push in the final frame to win going away.
Seth Bloomberg led the team in scoring with 11 points. Patrick Martin added 10 and Christian Armstrong nine for the Panthers. The Lady Panthers trailed 24-23 at the start of the fourth quarter, but made a strong push and had its best quarter at the end to get the victory. Randi Passmore hit five of six free throws and scored seven points in the last period. She finished with 14 points to lead all scorers. Sarah Moore added eight for the North ladies while Mallory Druckenmiller and Erin Shoemaker added five each.
The Jacksonville boys got their first win of the season Monday after two losses to LR Fair to start the year. The Red Devils knocked off Little Rock Christian Academy 45-32 in a conference matchup. Dashawn McClure scored 16 to lead the Red Devils. Sharod Williams added eight and Beeders Nelson scored seven for the winning team. The Lady Devils fell to 1-2 in their third straight game that came down to the wire. The Lady Warriors escaped with a 28-26 win.