LITTLE ROCK — Top-ranked North Little Rock is enjoying an exemplary season, and the Charging Wildcats have been especially impressive on their home court.
North Little Rock (20-1, 9-0 7A/6A-East) is 5-0 at the Charging Wildcats’ arena and has won its past three home games by no fewer than 40 points.
No. 2 Jonesboro (20-3, 8-1) enters tonight’s league game with road credentials that rival North Little Rock’s home dominance.
“If you look at our numbers, we have played well away from our place,” Jonesboro Coach Wes Swift said. “The atmosphere at North Little Rock may be different and we may not handle it as well, but we have been comfortable playing on the road.”
The Hurricane are 7-0 when playing on other teams’ home courts this season, winning those games by an average of 22. Jonesboro’s past two road victories were thrashings of West Memphis (68-29) and Mountain Home (52-22).
“Their talent level is extremely high,” North Little Rock Coach Johnny Rice said of Jonesboro. “They are well-coached and they play so hard. Plus, they could be the best half-court defensive team we’ve faced all year.”
North Little Rock won at Jonesboro on Jan. 11, taking advantage of a surge of Hurricane turnovers in the second quarter to build a 41-28 halftime lead before eventually holding on for a 74-73 victory.
“We had only 10 turnovers in that game, but we had eight in the first half and most of those came at the end of the second quarter,” Swift said. “We’ve never seen as much organized athleticism from [an opponent] as we saw that game.”
Jonesboro senior Keith Williams missed the first meeting with North Little Rock, and Swift said 6-5 sophomore Aaron Washington picked up two early fouls, forcing him to sit out much of the first half. The Jonesboro coach said he is hoping those two will get more quality minutes tonight.
North Little Rock picked up a combined 34 points from guard KeVaughn Allen and Dayshawn Watkins in the January meeting.
Jonesboro is coming off a 75-54 home victory over Little Rock Central. Junior guard Kahron Ross scored 19 points in that victory, while senior guard Malcolm Lockhart came off the bench to score 14.
North Little Rock won at West Memphis, 61-44, on Tuesday, getting 23 points from Watkins and 16 from Allen.
The Charging Wildcats have won their four road conference games by an average of 23.3 points. Their average margin of victory at home against conference opponents is 36.8 points per game.
“On the road, we’ve had a few sluggish games, but every home game we’ve gotten off to a good start,” Rice said. “I can’t actually explain it, but I’m sure it’s just that we may feel more comfortable at home.
“We’ve had really good crowds. Attendance is up, and rightfully so. I think that’s helped our energy.”
Sports, Pages 26 on 02/08/2013