7A/6A-EAST BOYS

Allen wrenches victory for NLR

— It may have been senior night at North Little Rock High School on Tuesday night, but it was a sophomore who stole the show to help the Charging Wildcats’ remain unbeaten in 7A/6A-East Conference play.

Kevaughn Allen scored 18 of his game-high 22 points in the second half to lift top ranked North Little Rock to a 75-46 victory over Mountain Home at Charging Wildcat Arena.

“I told him at halftime that there wasn’t one time that he attacked the rim,” North Little Rock Coach Johnny Rice said of Allen. “He didn’t make anything happen at all. But in the second half, he did and he did it in a big way.”

Allen had just one field goal on 1-of-5 shooting in the first half. The Charging Wildcats as a whole struggled on offense, but once Allen began picking things up in the third quarter, the entire team followed suit with an offensive barrage that Mountain Home couldn’t answer.

Thomas Alexander added 19 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocked shot to help North Little Rock (24-1, 13-0) run its winning streak to 23 games. Gary Vines scored 12 points and Dayshawn Watkins finished with 11.

Jack Schmitt led Mountain Home (9-16, 4-9) with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Skylar Culver added 11 points for the Bombers, who were able toput a scare into the Charging Wildcats in the first half on the strength of their defense.

Mountain Home trailed 16-9 heading into the second quarter but used a zone defense to throw North Little Rock off balance. The Charging Wildcats led 22-13 with 4:50 left before halftime, but missed 13 consecutive shots over the next four minutes, most of which were jumpers.

The Bombers, in turn, took advantage and used a 9-0 run to tie the game at 22-22. Schmitt later hit two free throws to give Mountain Home a 24-23 lead before Allen responded with two free throws with 50 seconds left in the half. Alexander’s tip-in just before the buzzer allowed North Little Rock to hold a slim 27-24 lead at the half.

Things were completely different in the second half, though. Behind Allen, the Charging Wildcats, who shot just 7 of 31 in the first half, begin attacking gaps in the Bombers’ defense and quickly turned a competitive game into a rout.

The first of Allen’s three dunks started a 12-2 rally for the Charging Wildcats within the first three minutes of the third quarter. Culver hit back-to-back shots for Mountain Home before another Allen dunk started a 12-point flurry that essentially put the game out of reach.

North Little Rock went on to score 11 of the first 13 points of the fourth quarter, with Allen scoring seven consecutive at one point, before Rice began subbing out his seniors for the final time in their home gymnasium.

Sports, Pages 23 on 02/20/2013

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