By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
As Forrest City Coach Dwight Lofton made his way through the tunnel and back to the dressing room moments after losing to fourth-ranked North Little Rock Tuesday, his only comment was "Damn, they are good."
After a poorly played first half by both teams, North Little Rock found their game in the second half to turn a closer-than-some-expected game into a runaway, handing Lofton's Mustangs a 75-51 loss in the first-round of the Class AAAAA State Tournament being played at North Little Rock.
"Man, they shifted into overdrive in the second half and we were still stuck in third gear," Lofton said. "But, I'm proud of our kids and I'm not feeling bad and I'm not disappointed. I think our kids played as hard as they could and they gave it all they had. We just ran into a very good team and ran out of bullets."
For Lofton and Forrest City, it was another early exit from the state bracket. Even though Forrest City was making its second consecutive state tournament appearance and its fifth in eight seasons under Lofton, it was also the fifth consecutive first-round loss for Lofton.
North Little Rock, the AAAAA-Central champion and one of four, No. 1 seeds into the boys' state mix, improves to 25-3 for the year and advances to Friday's 2:30 p.m., second-round game against either El Dorado or Bentonville.
Lofton's Mustangs, wearing the No. 4 seed from he AAAAA-East into the tournament, end the year at 15-12.
Mustang senior Lorenzo Spearman, playing his final game, led all scorers with 19 points. The 6-3 forward also pulled down 14 rebounds and never came out of the game.
Spearman was the only Forrest City player in double figures. He had 11 of Forrest City's 14 third period points.
North Little Rock seniors Toby Bell, Josh Warren and Myron Jackson combined for 28 points, 21 of that coming in the second half, as the Charging Wildcats turned a precarious 28-22 halftime lead into a 48-36 lead just seconds into the fourth period.
Bell, Jonathan Coleman and Matt Monroe each finished with 14 points for North Little Rock. Monroe had nine rebounds while Myron Jackson finished with eight points and seven rebounds.
Most of Forrest City's scoring troubles came at the foul line. The Mustangs hit only 13-of-29 free throw opportunities (8-of-17 in the first half) while North Little Rock dropped in 27-of-39 chances.
But what North Little Rock did best, especially in the second half, was play defense, which helped fuel a 10-2 run that started with 2:08 left in the third and took the Chargin' Wildcats from a 38-34 lead to a 48-36 advantage early in the fourth.
The Mustangs got the lead back to 50-40 with just under six minutes to play.. That was as close as Forrest City would get for the remainder of the game.
The Mustangs got little production from their "two-guard" or shooting guard spot on the floor but did well inside against the physical Chargin' Wildcats.
"I think we exposed some weaknesses in their defense," Lofton said. "Cameron (Henderson) was getting inside and getting the touches on the ball down low and that was a positive for us. But one of the best battles was on the floor between Chris (Williams) and Monroe. That was fun to watch."
The Mustangs (15-12) lost despite a 19-point, 14-rebound effort from senior forward Lorenzo Spearman.
"Spearman never came off the floor," Lofton said. "He always comes ready to play and he always plays hard. he has been a good leader for us and he deserves all of the accolades he can get."
North Little Rock Coach Ron Ingram said "Lofton had his boys primed and ready to play."
Forrest City got within one point at 30-29 with 5:20 to play in the third period on a three-pointer by Williams.
Spearman forced a 31-31 tie before NLR used two free throws and a three to push the lead back to 36-31.
"I can't say enough about the Forrest City fan support," Lofton said. "We had a great following there for the game and they were vocal and let the NLR people know that they were in the house."
*In other first-round boys' games played Tuesday, No. 1 seeded Fort Smith Northside got 29 points from senior guard Chris Cravens in a 65-50 win over Sheridan.
Northside will play the Blytheville-Conway winner Thursday at 8:30 p.m.
Northside improves to 25-2 for the year and Tuesday's win was their first state tournament victory since 1998 by defeating the Yellowjackets (13-13).
Sheridan was making its first state tournament appearance since 1999.
*Little Rock Hall (15-12) made certain there would be no repeat champion by holding off top-seeded Pine Bluff 63-51 Tuesday.
Pine Bluff defeated Little Rock Parkview a year ago in the Class AAAAA finals.
Hall hit 20-of-22 free throws in the fourth quarter.
Byron Nathaniel had 11 points for Hall while James Richardson and Columbus Opara added nine each.
Pine Bluff entered the state tournament, having won the AAAAA-South title and 16 of its past 18 games.
*In the Class AAAA State Tournament being played at Beebe, Morrilton defeated West Helena, Little Rock Mills downed Greenwood and Little Rock Fair topped Vilonia.
*At the Class AAA State Tournament at Ozark, it was East Poinsett County moving on with a win over Drew-Central. Pulaski Academy, the defending state champions stayed unbeaten for the season by defeating Farmington and Fordyce moved past CAC and into the second round.
*Turrell, Altheimer and Charleston all posted victories in first-round play at the Class AA State Tournament at Centerpoint while Waldo, Wickes and Guy-Perkins eased into the second round of the Class A State Tournament at Lynn.
Class AAAAA will crown a new girls state champion this year and Little Rock Parkview took a huge step toward that title Tuesday by defeating defending champion West Memphis 57-43 in first-round action at North Little Rock.
Fort Smith northside eliminated benton and El Dorado turned away Mount St. Mary.
In AAAA state play Tuesday, it was Morrilton, Alma and Hot Springs each posting first-round victories while Highland, Lonoke and Fordyce each won their first-round Class AAA state tournament games.
Valley Springs knocked off Turrell at the Class AA tournament while Harding Academy and Magazine both earned their way into the second round.
Humphrey, Wickes and Deer were all winners at the Class A state at Lynn.
WYNNE -- Layne McGuirt tasted perfection Tuesday.
The freshman pitched a perfect game for Wynne, striking out 13 batters before the mercy rule was called after five innings in a 10-0 high school softball win over Searcy. McGuirt also drove in two runs.
Kristen Stain contributed two hits, including a home run. Krystan Quinn and Sierra McDaniel both had two hits, with McDaniel knocking in an RBI. Jodi Stepp also had an RBI double for Wynne (2-0).
McGuirt is the daughter of Woody and Karen McGuirt.
The registration process for the 2004 Forrest City Recreation Department's youth baseball and softball seasons continues through March 15.
Registration for the adult men's and women's softball leagues began March 1.
The youth baseball and softball fees are $15 for each child living in the Forrest City city limits and $25 for each child outside the city limits.
For more information call Kenneth Taylor at 633-3667.