High school basketball report

LITTLE ROCK — Looking for the hot hand

North Little Rock is not shy with its shots.

The top-ranked Charging Wildcats put up 63 field goal attempts in Friday’s 87-44 home victory over Little Rock Central. North Little Rock made 32 of those field goals for an impressive 50.8 percentage.

What might be more impressive is the way the Charging Wildcats shared the ball.

“We really don’t care who scores,” North Little Rock 6-5 senior forward Thomas Alexander said. “I really don’t. We like to pass the ball and find the open man.”

Led by sophomore Kevaughn Allen’s 24 points, North Little Rock (17-1) won its 16th consecutive game.

Eleven Charging Wildcats scored on Friday.

“One of the things we talk about is not just passing the ball around the perimeter and shooting threes,” North Little Rock Coach Johnny Rice said. “If someone hits two or three in a row, we want them to keep shooting, but once they’ve missed two or three, we want them to find someone else. We shot it really well, so I can’t really complain.”

Alexander scored 10 of his 15 points in the first 3:08.

Guard Jawan Eldridge added 14 and Alabama-Birmingham signee Dayshawn Watkins scored 12.

North Little Rock made 12 of 18 shots in the first quarter. Six of the 12 baskets were three-pointers. The Charging Wildcats racked up nine of their 17 assists in the opening eight minutes, including five from Watkins.

DECATUR A big improvement

The one thing Josh Unger wanted to do when he took over the Decatur boys basketball program at the start of the 2011-2012 season was “change the culture” of the way the school thought about basketball.

It seems to be working.

Decatur won two games in his first season, but Unger’s Bulldogs (16-5, 9-1) are on the verge of winning the 2A-4 West Conference title this season, with four games remaining.

“It was sort of dead around here,” Unger said.

“There was the feeling that the players didn’t have to put in any work. All they thought they had to do was show up on game days.”

That way of thinking is now a thing of the past.

“The first couple of months around here was rough,” Unger said. “But I’ve got nine seniors who have bought into the system. They’ve worked hard and it’s really beginning to pay off.”

Unger said 6-3 forward Andrew Harris is the senior leader, who along with sophomore brothers Mario and Victor Urquidi, have pushed the Bulldogs to success.

“We like to play full court, man-to-man trap,” said Unger, who was a manager at the University of Arkansas under Coach Nolan Richardson. “It’s based off of what I learned from watching Coach Richardson’s teams. We play uptempo basketball and try to force a lot of crazy turnovers.”

Mario Urquidi is the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 13.2 points and 9.3 rebounds a game. Victor Urquidi is averaging 3.1 assists and 2.4 steals a game.

Decatur’s one-point victory over Hartford on Friday was its ninth victory in a row.

MOUNT VERNON-ENOLA

Wanting a big finish

Mount Vernon-Enola Coach Freeman Isaacs said one problem his team experienced last season was making mistakes at the end of games. That hasn’t been the case this season.

“They’re just a hardworking bunch,” said Isaacs, whose team improved to 23-2 on Thursday after a 53-31 home victory over defending Class A state champion Wonderview.

“Last year, we were there [in the state title mix], but then we would make silly mistakes at the end of games that would cost us the game. I think we’ve gotten smarter as to how to finish those types of games.”

Senior guard Katherine Bartley led the Lady Warhawks with 20 points in Thursday’s victory. Her point total consisted of four three-pointers and an 8-of-9 effort from the free-throw line.

“She’s quick. She works hard on defense,” Isaacs said of Bartley. “Between our three guards, we’re hard to guard because they can all shoot it so well. ... [Bartley] can just spot up and shoot it.”

Junior Heather Prowse made 4 of 5 free throws.

Isaacs said senior guard Shanna Smith is also a good free-throw shooter, but she did not shoot any from the line on Thursday.

“Those three guards are shooting 80 percent or above on their free throws,” Isaacs said. “They’re real good.”

The Lady Warhawks are on a 12-game winning steak, which includes a two point victory over Class 3A powerhouse Harding Academy. They have four regular-season games left before the start of the 1A-5 North Conference Tournament, which will be held at Nemo Vista.

EAST POINSETT COUNTY

Three-point perfect

At one point early in Friday’s 2A-3 contest between East Poinsett County and Rector, EPC Coach Josh Hill overheard 6-3 freshman Malik Monk say he was “not going to miss.”

“I didn’t believe him,” Hill said. “But I don’t think he was kidding.”

Monk finished with 38 points, including 8 for 8 from beyond the three-point line, as the Warriors (15-6, 13-1) posted a 78-50 victory over the Cougars.

“It was probably the most impressive offensive effort I’ve ever been apart of in 13 years of coaching,” Hill said. “And Rector is a team that plays you man-to man, in-your-face defense every second of the game. It wasn’t like they were sitting back in a zone and letting him shoot.”

Hill said Monk played about 20 of the game’s 32 minutes. Monk was on the bench for two minutes in the first and third quarters and did not play in the fourth.

Hill said Monk missed three shots on Friday, but none from three-point range.

Senior Jammar Sturdivant added 15 points for East Poinsett County.

The Warriors’ victory wrapped up their fifth consecutive conference title.

SHORT SHOTS

Danville sophomore Jay Trusty scored a combined 61 points in two 2A-4 East games last week, including a 41-point effort in an 85-81 double overtime loss to Lamar on Tuesday. Trusty made 16 of 36 from the floor and 26 of 28 from the free-throw line in the games. He leads the Little Johns averaging 22.5 points a game this season.

Little Rock Fair won its fourth consecutive game on Friday, taking a double-overtime victory at Lake Hamilton. Alex Benard led the War Eagles (8-8, 4-2) with 22 points while Jerrick Coles added 17. The game was tied at 36-36 after regulation and 40-40 after the first overtime. Fair is scheduled to make up a home game with Pine Bluff on Saturday, Feb. 2.

Bay (30-4, 11-0) remained undefeated in the 1A-3 East on Friday with a 72-50 victory over Crowley’s Ridge. Tyson Oliver had 21 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds for the Yellowjackets.

Hannah Willard, a senior for the Bay Lady Yellowjackets, topped the 1,500-point mark for her career on Thursday night. Willard scored 16 points in a 55-36 victory over Ridgefield Christian.

Fountain Lake’s Andrew Freeman scored 30 and 29 points in back-to-back games last week.

Freeman scored 30 in a 59-54 victory over Benton Harmony Grove on Tuesday and 29 points in Thursday’s 40-35 victory over E Stem.

Riverview’s Lady Raiders extended their winning streak to six with Friday’s 64-44 victory over Bald Knob. Freshman Erykah Johns scored 16 points and junior Meg Meachum added 12 points.

Riverview is 13-3 this season after winning four games during the 2011-2012 season.