Wampus Cats handle Russellville by 14

By Zachary O'Neal
UCA sportswriting

Conway's Wampus Cats held off a Russellville rally Tuesday, defeating the Cyclones, 69-55, at Buzz Bolding Arena.

After a 2-2 tie, the Wampus Cats jumped out to a 21-9 lead after one quarter, increasing their lead to 33-19 at halftime by creating opportunities to attack the basket against the Cyclone defense.

Things started to change toward the end of the third quarter as the Cyclones rallied within 49-41.

“For the most part, it went well,” Conway coach James Bates said. “When we were up 49-30, we let them get back to 49-41, and we let that run go. I think Micah (Delph) was on the bench in that stretch, so we had to get him back on the floor.

"Our younger guards don’t really right now understand the tempo part. When you miss two or three shots, you need to get a good one the next time down.”

The Wampus Cats regained their 19-point lead as they rallied in the beginning of the fourth quarter.

“I thought in the third quarter we were going to pull out of it,” Russellville coach Joe Sitkowski said. “They were a good team. We just couldn’t do it.”

The Wampus Cats improved to 19-6 overall, 10-3 in the 7A/6A-Central conference after the Senior Night victory.

“We control our destiny,” Delph said. “They are going to have to step up and make their own legacy because I’m a senior now.”

The top contributors were Delph with 18 points, Colt Fason with 15, Everett Reed with 14 and Tim Boyd with 11.

The Wampus Cats head on the road Friday to finish the regular season at Little Rock Catholic. The defending Class 7A state champions, they'll open play next week in the 2011 State Tournament at Rogers Heritage.