North Pulaski Splits with Helena-West Helena; Boys Win, Girls Lose

Andrew Bagley Author Archive
HELENA-WEST HELENA- Twenty-nine points from Rashawn Langston propelled the North Pulaski Falcons (7-5,1-0) to a 79-68 win over the Helena-West Helena Central Cougars (3-3, 0-1).
The game was tight throughout the first half.  Helena-West Helena led 21-20 at the end of the first quarter. A three pointer at the buzzer to end the first half from Helena-West Helena’s Alonzo Murphy tied the game at 37-37.
With the Cougars up 39-37 with 7:40 to go in the third quarter, the Falcons went on an 11-2 run to take the lead for good at 48-41. The Cougars would bounce back to cut the lead to 51-48, but two consecutive three point shots from Langston pushed the lead back to nine at 57-48. The Cougars would never get that close again.
After Langston’s 29 points, Eric Mouton added 18 points and Joseph Aikens followed with 14. The Cougars were led by Jeremy Hampton with 19 points, followed by Delane Bedford with 15 points.
In girls’ action, Helena West Helena (3-3, 1-0 5A-Central) led from start to finish as they defeated the Lady Falcons by a score of 56-37. The Lady Cougars started fast and built a 24-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. The lead grew to 30-14 before North Pulaski went on a 6-2 run to cut the lead to 32-20 at the intermission. The Lady Falcons opened the second half and quickly cut the lead to 34-28, but that was as close as the Lady Falcons would get. The Lady Cougars opened the lead back up to nine points to 44-35 at the end of the third quarter. The final stanza was all Helena-West Helena as they held North Pulaski to two points over the final eight minutes.
The Lady Cougars were led by Kymberlee Collier with 21 points. Cassandra Nealy and Delana Bedford followed with 10 points each.