NO SLOWING DOWN PARKVIEW

Once the Little Rock Parkview Patriots got tired of waiting, they pulled away for a 60-39 victory over the Little Rock Christian Warriors on Wednesday night at Rip Arena. Trailing 17-14 early in the second quarter, the Warriors began holding the ball and waiting for Parkview to leave its zone defense. That lasted about three minutes until Justice Hill scored on a layup to make it a 17-16 game with 3:48 left in the half. Little Rock Christian was never that close again. The Patriots (15-3, 5-0 6A/5A-4) answered 13 seconds later with a three-point play by senior Javon Franklin. That was followed by a forced turnover and Franklin's offensive rebound basket for a 22-16 lead. A Franklin steal led to an offensive rebound basket by Khalil Garland, and the Patriots were back in control. The Patriots finished with a 29-18 halftime lead. The slowdown was not a ploy unfamiliar to the Patriots. "Everybody is doing that to us,'' Parkview Coach Al Flanigan said. "Jonesboro beat us with that and [Jon] Coleman at Hall saw that so he stalled the ball, too. So I guess [Little Rock Christian Coach Clarence] Finley, he talked to Coleman. And I'm sure somebody is going to talk to Finley. So we might as well get ready for it. "We handled it pretty well. I was proud of the guys the way they came back and hung in there." While the Warriors (9-6, 1-3) had their strategy, Parkview did as well. "We played a little better defense,'' Flanigan said. "We did what I asked them to do with the little point guard [Justice] Hill. We didn't let him go crazy and break us down, so that was a key right there." Hill, a sophomore who has committed to the Arkansas Razorbacks, had just six points. Garland, Hill's future teammate in Fayetteville, led the Patriots with 21 points. Franklin had 19. After an almost even first half, Parkview trailed 7-6 at one point but led 14-11 at the end of the quarter. Garland (9) and Franklin (5) scored all of Parkview's points in the quarter. After three quarters, Parkview led 48-30 after starting the half with a 12-2 run. Will Strickland led the Warriors with nine points, all on three-pointers. Parkview travels to Maumelle on Friday in a battle of unbeaten conference leaders. "Now we just have to get our rest and get ready to go out to that jungle on Friday,'' Flanigan said.

Little Rock School District Athletics

NO SLOWING DOWN PARKVIEW

Photo Credit: Parkview High School Athletics