Cabot claims Citizens Bank Classic title

Cabot found itself down early but bounced back quickly Saturday night with the help from guard Jalen Brown at Clair Bates Arena. Brown led the way scoring a game-high 23 to push Cabot past Fort Smith Southside in a 61-43 victory in the championship game at the Citizens Bank Classic. "He is a gym rat," Cabot coach Jerry Bridges said of Brown. "He is my assistant coach's son. People don't know how much time he puts in on his own. There is a reason he is a good shooter. He plays great defense as well." Southside (4-2) was able to take a 12-8 lead after the first quarter with a strong performance from Ollis Brewer. He had a team-high eight points in the quarter. Cabot (4-1) was then able to bounce back and hold Southside to one of nine shooting in the second quarter. That allowed the Panthers to take a 27-17 lead heading into halftime. Southside was held scoreless in the second quarter until Taye Gatewood made one of two free-throw attempts with 2:54 left before the break. "We are going to guard you hard and try to make your shots tough," Bridges said. "We did a good job of that. But I think this game could've gone either way. They have some good players." Cabot used a 10-0 run in the second quarter to open up an 18-12 lead with the help of back-to-back 3-point baskets from Jacob Hudson and Jared Vance. "I was proud of my kids keeping their composure better than their coach," said Bridges, who picked up a technical foul in the first quarter. "I felt like in the second quarter we settled down and did what we do best. That includes me." The Panthers pushed out its lead to 42-29 heading into the final quarter with a quick 6-0 run aided by a Maverick technical foul. Cabot used a basket from Christian Weir and four free-throw attempts made by Mario May and Brown. "You look at the score, and you get beat by 18," Southside coach Charlie Cooper said. "It looks like a blowout. But that's just about four points a quarter. It will take a little bit here and there to improve. This is a learning experience." Brown was able to keep the game well out of reach in the fourth quarter, as he finished with a team-high nine points to close out the game strong. Southside, which had 11 different player score points, was led by a team-high 15 points from Brewer. "I'm proud of these guys," Southside coach Charlie Cooper said. "This is the first finals of a tournament for us for about three years. That's something to build on. We missed a lot of shots early." Hudson added 10 points, while May scored eight to help keep the Cabot offense balanced. Van Buren 60, Mountain Home 45 Mountain Home (2-4) was able to take a 12-10 lead after the first quarter with Van Buren (3-2) having six turnovers early. But the Pointers then scored the initial 15 points of the second quarter to bounce back, building a 25-12 lead. Van Buren didn't look back after that in winning the third-place game. Jordan West led the way for Van Buren by scoring a game-high 20 points. Presley Kindrix and Brayden Gilmore each had 11 for the Pointers. Mountain Home's Colton Peters scored a team-high 14 points. David Wehmeyer added 10 points for the Bombers.

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Cabot High School Athletics

CABOT CLAIMS CITIZENS BANK CLASSIC TITLE

HAROLD MCILVAIN

Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette | 12/3/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Cabot High School Athletics