With a total of 56 fouls between the two teams, neither Cutter Morning Star nor Maumelle Charter could find a consistent rhythm, but the Eagles used a strong first half to hold on for a 60-42 win Friday night at Eagle Fieldhouse.
The Eagles (11-7, 6-4 2A-5) found half of their points at the free throw line with 16 of the 30 coming in the fourth frame. A 16-0 start for the home team proved to be too much for the visiting Falcons (12-13, 5-5) to overcome.
"We got off to a good, fast start, which is what we needed," said Cutter Morning Star head coach Matt Carter. "I feel like our defense is getting a lot better as we go. We've kind of changed some things that we're doing. I think we're playing hard. It was a good overall team win.
"I thought we played really well in the first half. I thought in the second half we got caught up in a little back-and-forth with the jawing and the mouthing and stuff like that. We stopped concentrating on what we were doing, and we allowed them get back in it at times. We can't do that. We've got to be better than that."
Junior guard Ryan Brown hit a 3-pointer just 32 seconds into the game to spark the early run, putting up 11 of the team's opening salvo before Falcons senior guard Cole Zellner found the basket for a trey with 1:12 left in the quarter. Brown added two more points at the line before a trey by Maumelle junior guard Schwan Bowman left the Eagles with an 18-6 lead at the end of the first period.
Junior guard Landen Danner hit a trey for the Falcons 30 seconds into the second period, but the Eagles responded with an 11-1 run to take a 30-10 lead on a bucket by sophomore guard Mitchel Herron with 2:59 left in the half. The two teams traded buckets before Maumelle junior guard Jarmall Lovelace hit a shot for two in the paint at the buzzer to pull within 32-14.
Falcons senior forward Justin Fudge took control out of the break, putting up the team's first eight points of the period to lead a 9-4 run to pull within 36-22 with 2:31 left in the third quarter. Brown and junior forward Colby Heaton hit a pair of free throws each to pull the Eagles out to a 40-23 lead with 1:53 to go.
"We got off to a slow start," said Maumelle Charter head coach Josh Sensabaugh. "That was our biggest downfall. I thought we competed and we played hard in the second half, which is what I asked my guys to do at halftime. I told them, 'Don't look at the scoreboard. We've just got to go out and compete.'
"I think we did a really good job in the second half. If I looked at my book right, we held them to only three field goals in the second half, and the rest were free throws. If we play hard without fouling, I think we can get back in it. A slow start hurts, and we've got to fix that for sure."
A 3-pointer by senior forward Josh Mason cut the Falcons' deficit to 14 with just 1:07 remaining, but a pair of Heaton free throws pushed the Eagles back out to 42-26 before Falcons senior forward Chad Boyd hit a shot at the line for a 15-point hole to enter the final frame.
Boyd hit a pair of free throws before the Eagles hit a 7-2 stretch to pull to a 50-31 lead with 4:07 remaining. The Falcons managed to cut their deficit down to 56-42 by the 2:22 mark, but Cutter Morning Star closed out the quarter with single free throws by Heaton and Brown before a bucket by junior forward Ethan Dixon set the final.
"It's hard to get a rhythm I think for both sides," Sensabaugh said. "Neither of our teams were able to get any kind of rhythm. We kind of got into a rhythm a little bit late, but that was more we were trying to hurry up, and we were able to get a few open shots, easy drops at the basket that way.
"It was hard to get in any kind of rhythm because you just felt like every time that someone touched the ball or touched someone else, it was a foul. It makes it difficult for sure to get in any kind of rhythm."
Carter said he was disappointed with his team's performance in the second half, picking up 18 fouls in the last two quarters.
"It comes down to not focusing on what you're supposed to be doing and focusing on the outside things that really don't matter like running your mouth and talking trash," he said.
"That's not what we need to do. That's what leads to that right there. Also, the way that they played, very physical, there weren't a lot of easy shots to be had. You've got to make them at the free throw line."
Brown paced the Eagles with 26 points, six rebounds, two steals, a block and an assist. Heaton added 18 points while shooting 12 of 17 at the charity stripe with seven rebounds and an assist, and senior guard Rhett Barrett added 10 points with two steals and two rebounds. Dixon led the Eagles with eight rebounds.
"Colby had a big game for us," Carter said. "That's the best game he's had for us.
"I thought he was strong on the boards defensively. He hit his free throws for the most part, a very nice game for him. I'm very proud of his effort."
Mason led the Falcons with 10 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two assists, and Fudge added eight points with a rebound and one charge taken. Boyd pulled down a game-leading 14 rebounds.
The Eagles will play host to Magnet Cove (13-9, 7-3) Tuesday in hopes of avenging last month's 50-41 loss on the road.
Sports on 01/20/2019