LITTLE ROCK — Dayshawn Watkins scored 13 of his game-high 17 points in the third quarter, sparking North Little Rock to a 60-52, come-from-behind victory over Jacksonville on Tuesday at the Devil’s Den.
The Red Devils (4-2) led the entire first half, pushing the margin to 12 points. But the Charging Wildcats cut their deficit to 30-26 at halftime before Watkins took over in the third quarter.
“He’s had games where he’s scored 25, and he’s had games where he’s had 13 assists,” North Little Rock Coach Johnny Rice said. “Tonight, he had a little bit of both. There are times when he’s a shootfirst guard and we don’t want that. But there were stretches where he knew we needed buckets, and he stepped up.”
Watkins banked in a 17-footer to open the third quarter, and then gave North Little Rock its first lead since 2-0 by making a three-pointer. Following a basket by Kevaughn Allen, Watkins hesitated before hitting a floater just outside the lane for a 35-30 lead.
Jacksonville’s Aaron Smith answered with a three-pointer, but Watkins scored on a drive and then hit a fade-away from the baseline. His final points of the quarter came on a threepointer for a 42-34 advantage, and the Charging Wildcats led 45-38 going into the fourth quarter.
Point guard Justin Mc-Cleary got the Red Devils within 51-49 on his putback with 4:33 to play. But Gary Vines answered with a threepoint play for North Little Rock. After a turnover, Allen scored off an offensive rebound to make it 56-49. Allen added two free throws, and Vines’ basket gave the Charging Wildcats a 60-50 lead.
North Little Rock missed the front end of three consecutive 1-and-1 chances in the final minute, but Jacksonville went equally cold from the floor and could not capitalize.
Jacksonville started out quickly, rushing to a 10-2 lead. The Red Devils built the lead thanks largely to McCleary, who had six points in the first quarter.
A driving basket by Sergio Berkley gave the Red Devils an 18-6 lead with 1:30 left in the first quarter. Jacksonville led 30-22 late in the half, but North Little Rock scored the next 13 points.
“I expected that,” Rice said. “Coach [Victor] Joyner’s teams are going to come out and play hard and physical in their house. I’m extremely proud of our guys for competing back. Just like a boxing match, we got punched right in the mouth and held it together.”
Sports, Pages 23 on 12/12/2012