Northside earns second 6A crown in three years

The Northside Grizzlies outlasted the Bryant Hornets to win the 6A Boys state championship, 44-41. The Grizzlies notched their second title in three years after holding the Hornets to their lowest point total of the season.

Tournament MVP Jaylin Williams dominated the contest, finishing with 20 points, 16 rebounds and 3 blocks. The University of Arkansas, Oklahoma State University and Texas Christian University have offered scholarships to the 6-foot-10 junior.

“I’m so proud of these guys. Three weeks ago, nobody was talking about Northside. I liked that. I told the team we were going to fly under the radar,” said Northside head coach Eric Burnett. “It’s special for this group of guys.”

The Hornets fought back in the end, going on a 12-2 run to tie the game with just 1:50 remaining in the contest after trailing by as many as 11. Khalen Robinson and Camren Hunter led Bryant with 11 points each. Hunter added 8 rebounds, while Robinson grabbed 6.

“It meant a lot to show everyone what we could do,” Williams said after the win. “We’re going to be back next year.”

“Hey, if Jaylin said it, I’m right there behind him,” Burnett said.

The game started out sluggish, as both teams combined for just 16 points in the opening period. Williams had 6 of the 11 points for the Grizzlies, highlighted by a side-step slam dunk to cap off a 9-0 run to start the contest.

After trailing 11-5 at the end of the first, Bryant fought back and got within two points. Northside held a slight 16-14 lead when Williams came alive again. He went on a 6-0 run by himself (again highlighted by a high-flying jam) to give the Grizzlies a 22-14 lead just before the half. Right before time expired in the first half, Jermualle Norwood hit a near-half-court buzzer beater to extend the Northside run to 9-0, giving the Grizzlies a 25-14 halftime lead.

Williams continued his tear in the second half, scoring the first 6 points of the half for the Grizzlies and celebrating Lance Stephenson style with some air guitar action. He notched 14 of 19 points for Northside from the 3:18 mark in the second quarter all the way to the end of the third.

Bryant fought back toward the end of the third, as Hunter drained back-to-back triples, cutting the Northside lead to just 4 points in the process. The Hornets made four baskets from the field in the third period. Three of them were 3-pointers.

Northside held onto a 35-27 lead entering the final period. Braylin McKinley extended the lead to 10 points with a made layup to start the fourth. Then, something changed.

The Hornets turned up the (full-court) pressure down the stretch, and it paid off tremendously. Bryant forced six turnovers in the period over a nearly six-minute stretch, leading to a 12-2 run. Rodney Lambert had 6 points over the stretch, while Robinson added 4.

With just under two minutes remaining, the game sat tied at 39. Javion Releford knocked a down a triple, his only made shot of the night, with just 1:17 remaining to give the Grizzlies a 42-39 advantage. Burnett called Releford their best 3-point shooter, despite his off night.

Treylon Payne then missed a 3-pointer for Bryant, but Hunter cleaned it up with a put-back to cut the lead to a single point.

On the ensuing possession, Hunter fouled Releford, sending him to the free throw line. He knocked down both shots, eventually setting the final at 44-41. Lambert had one last shot at it, but his potential game-tying shot bricked off the backboard at the final buzzer.

Bryant was able to notch two wins against Northside this season but came up short in the game that mattered most. Despite averaging 63 points per game on the season, the Grizzlies held them to an average of just 44.8 points per contest in their four matchups.

“Congratulations to Northside. They played a great game. They earned it,” said Bryant head coach Michael Abrahamson. “We fought until the end.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------

If you are not an ArkansasVarsity.com subscriber, you can become one by CLICKING HERE. It costs less than a cup of coffee per day to get access to the most in prep sports and recruiting information anywhere in the state.

Want to become a partner with ArkansasVarsity.com? Email Luke Matheson at Luke@ArkansasVarsity.com

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER:

@LUKEMATHESON - @CHASEGAGE1 - @ARKANSASVARSITY -@ARPOWERPOLL