By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Cabot Panthers went on a 5-0 run to start the fourth quarter and take a one-point lead, but everything went Pulaski Academy’s way after that as the Bruins went on to a 60-52 victory in the championship game of the Badger Holiday Classic in Beebe on Monday.
Neither team led by more than four points in the first three quarters, but PA answered Cabot’s 5-0 run with an 11-0 run of its own that gave the Bruins a 55-45 lead with 4:45 left in the game.
The Bruins, 8-2, led 44-40 at the end of three. Cabot’s Hunter York hit his third-consecutive three pointer with 7:12 on the clock. After a defensive stop, senior Michael Smith and sophomore Garrett Rowe played give-and-go for an open layup and a 45-44 Cabot lead.
Bruin sophomore Lawson Korita then sank a three pointer to quickly give his team the lead. Cabot then missed, and PA point guard Marcus Wallace got the rebound and went the length of the court for a layup and a 49-45 lead.
York then missed from three-point range for the first time in the second half, and the long rebound went out of bounds. Wallace was fouled on the ensuing possession and sank both free throws. Cabot’s Jake Ferguson missed a three pointer on the next possession. Post player Adolfo Iglesias was there for the offensive rebound and had an open look, but lost the ball on the way up. Korita then sank another three pointer for a54-45 Pulaski Academy lead with 4:45 left in the game.
Ferguson got an offensive rebound on the next possession, but he also missed a point-blank layup. Wallace got that rebound and was fouled. He made one of two to cap the Bruin run with 4:28 on the clock.
York finally broke Cabot’s drought with a three pointer, and Korita walked to give the Panthers possession and plenty of time still on the clock. But Ferguson missed another three and PA got the rebound. Wallace was fouled and missed the front end of a one-and-one trip to the line, and Iglesias scored with a strong move at the other end.
That made it 55-50 with 3:10 remaining and Cabot called timeout. But the Panther offense could get nothing going the rest of the way.
Wallace penetrated for a 12-foot jumper with 2:40 remaining to make it 57-50. York was then called for an offensive foul, his fifth. That made the foul margin 10-3 in the second half with 2:02 remaining. Wallace hit both foul shots for a nine-point Bruin lead. The Bruins only scored one point the rest of the way, but Cabot couldn’t buy a basket.
The Panthers managed just two free throws by Rowe the rest of the way, and were 2 of 13 from the floor in the last six minutes of the game.
The Panthers travel to Bryant on Monday for their final nonconference game. They will begin play in the 7A/6A East when they travel to 7A’s top-ranked North Little Rock on Friday.