In an intriguing non-conference tilt between a pair of state runners-up from a season ago, it was Little Rock Central making the final play on Tuesday night at Fidelity Bank Arena.
The Class 6A Tigers trailed by as many as 10 points in the third period, but flipped the script in time to take a three-point lead opening the fourth period, and held off Class 5A Marion 61-58 on Tuesday night.
"Their kids were ready to play; I thought our kids were ready to play as well," said LR Central head coach Shelby Lewis. "I was excited to come away with a win in this one, any way we could get it. I just hope we can keep building on this one."
Little Rock Central (2-0 overall) got 17 points apiece from Brandon Wright and Tray Aleem at Marion, while Jamie Dunn, Jr. hit for 8 points, all in the second half.
Marion (0-1) fell despite getting a game-high 20 points from Karlyal "Duck" Hyland, 13 from Daevion Bailey, and 10 from Liam Henry.
It was Wright who dealt the deciding bucket for Little Rock Central when the Tigers inbounded late in the fourth period from in front of their own bench, and the senior spun to the baseline and scored a layup while drawing a foul on Korbin Littlejohn.
Wright's three-point play gave the Tigers a three-point lead with 16 seconds left in regulation.
"In that situation, you just want to give your best player a chance," said Lewis. "We wanted to iso Brandon a little bit. We had two play calls. If they sagged off, or if they're in a zone, we would change it. They gave him some space to work, and he made the most of it."
Hyland's potential tying three-pointer as time expired just missed, and Little Rock Central celebrated the victory.
Marion led 15-14 after the first period as Littlejohn got the Pats going with 6 points in the opening frame, with Hyland adding 4.
The Pats canned 5 three-pointers in the second period as a team to extend their lead to 31-26 at halftime.
Marion claimed its largest lead of the night when Gary Hayes, III converted a three-point play with 6:00 left in the third period, as the hosts pushed ahead 36-26, but the Tigers rallied from there.
Dunn responded with all 6 of his points in the third period in quick succession, and the Tigers completed their comeback to tie the game at 38 when Wright made a layup with 2:20 left in the third.
"The biggest thing for us was starting to drive to the basket and hit some high-percentage shots like Marion was doing," said Lewis.
Another Wright layup gave Central a 44-41 advantage after 3 frames.
The Tigers didn't trail in the fourth period until 4:03 remained, when Marion took the lead back on a Hyland three-pointer, giving the hosts a 53-52 lead.
The Tigers reclaimed the lead with 3:01 left on a Dunn turnaround jumper, but Littlejohn tied the score again when he split a pair of free throws.
A Hyland layup with 2:13 left gave Marion a 56-54 lead, and Aleem split a pair of free throws to get the Tigers within a point.
Two Wright free throws gave the Tigers a 57-56 lead with 1:32 left in regulation, but Henry answered with a floater with 1:22 left to give the Pats a 58-57 lead.
Aleem tied the game when he split a pair of free throws, setting the stage for the finish.