HIGH SCHOOL BOYS

Sophomore sparks NLR

— Sophomore KeVaughn Allen scored 17 points and North Little Rock made Johnny Rice’s home debut as the Charging Wildcats’ head coach a successful one in a 62-53 victory over Jacksonville on Tuesday night.

With the game tied at 37-37 midway through the third quarter, Allen started an 8-0 outburst with a putback and the Charging Wildcats (2-1) never trailed again.

“He’s a sophomore by grade, but I’m sure that young man has played more basketball than most,” Rice said of Allen. “The thing about him is that he is the most coachable and humble kid that I’ve been around, and I’ve been around North Little Rock a long time.”

Jacksonville (0-1) trailed 47-41 entering the final eight minutes but saw its chances of a comeback dwindle when the Red Devils hit only one of their first nine field-goal attempts to start the fourth quarter.

Justin McCleary, who led Jacksonville with 16 points, made a layup with 53 seconds to play that pulled the Red Devils to within 56-51, but North Little Rock hit its final six free throws to keep Jacksonville from getting any closer.

Jacksonville was guilty of 20 turnovers.

“That’s the difference in that first game,” Jacksonville Coach Victor Joyner said. “They’ve played three or four and that’s our first. There were moments in that game where if we knocked down some shots and get to the free-throw line, we would have had a chance. We really didn’t attack the basket like we should have.”

Thomas Alexander added 14 points and eight rebounds for North Little Rock, while DayShawn Watkins added 11 points. Watkins and Allen each handed out three assists.

Kahleel Hart added 10 points for Jacksonville. Aaron Smith, Sergio Berkley and Keith Charleston each scored nine for the Red Devils.

Sports, Pages 22 on 11/28/2012

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