PARKVIEW KEEPS PLAYOFF HOPES AFLOAT

Little Rock Parkview kept its season alive Tuesday night against its biggest rival, defeating Little Rock Hall 49-42 at George Cirks Arena in Little Rock. The Patriots (11-14, 6-7) are still in contention for the 5A-Central Conference's No. 4 seed in the Class 5A boys state tournament next week in Russellville along with Pine Bluff and Little Rock Hall (9-10, 5-7). They'll host Pine Bluff in the regular-season finale Thursday. "The sense of urgency was there," Parkview Coach Scotty Thurman said. "We prepared for this game like we wanted to come in here and steal one. We had to. We needed it. Our backs were against the wall." Junior guard Keylon Harris led Little Rock Parkview with 17 points. Senior forward Ryan Gordon finished with 12 points. Parkview trailed 14-7 after one quarter and was down 17-7 with 6:00 left in the second quarter, but the Patriots went into halftime with a 26-25 lead thanks to two free throws from Harris with 54.5 seconds left in the first half. The Patriots extended their lead to 32-26 with 6:00 left in the third quarter on sophomore forward Cameron Wallace's slam dunk, but Hall pulled within 36-33 by the end of the third quarter. With 5:27 left to play, freshman guard Addison Shelton's three-point play gave Parkview its largest lead of the game, 41-33. But senior guard Carlos Miller hit two consecutive three-pointers to cut the advantage to 41-39 with 4:30 remaining. Parkview responded, as Wallace's layup made it 43-39 with 3:35 left. Senior forward Dylon Session's slam dunk with 59 seconds remaining pulled the Warriors within 45-42. The Patriots sealed the victory by going 4 of 4 at the free-throw line, giving Thurman his first victory over the crosstown Warriors. "I thought we grew up," Thurman said. "We've had a lot of adversity this year. We've had some games that we didn't close out. "We're trying to get to the playoffs. They stepped up very big tonight." Williams led Hall with 13 points, while junior guard Brock Wesley chipped in with 10. The Warriors have two games left this week, at 5A-Central champion Jacksonville on Thursday and at home Friday against Watson Chapel, a matchup that was rescheduled from Feb. 7 because of the flu hitting several Hall players. Coach Jon Coleman, who led the Warriors to the Class 5A state championship game last season, said his team will be ready to play as they attempt to get back to the state tournament. "We're going to approach those two games like we've approached every game this season," Coleman said. "We're going to get ready for Jacksonville. They beat us by one here. We're going to try to give them a loss."

Parkview Magnet High School Athletics

PARKVIEW KEEPS PLAYOFF HOPES AFLOAT

Photo Credit: Parkview Magnet High School Athletics