North Little Rock and Little Rock Central stayed in the fast lane Friday night at North Little Rock's gymnasium, until Central couldn't keep up anymore.

The Charging Wildcats, the state's top-ranked team, scored 28 fourth-quarter points to pull away for a 79-64 victory in a game that was nip-and-tuck for more than three quarters.

The Charging Wildcats (17-3, 8-0 6A-Central) won for the 10th consecutive time.

Central (11-10, 4-4) came into the game with a four-game winning streak, and for more than three quarters the Tigers acted like they planned on playing it close to the wire, which is exactly what North Little Rock Coach Johnny Rice expected.

"They're good. They play hard," Rice said. "And they were making shots early. I think the deal was we made shots in the fourth and they didn't. That was the difference."

It was 58-56 North Little Rock after a three-point shot by Central's CJ Price with 5:39 to play, but the Charging Wildcats flipped on the scoring switch.