BOYS BASKETBALL

NLR duo shine in blowout

North Little Rock’s Thomas Alexander (top) of the East goes up for a shot against Clarksville’s Dederick Lee of the West during Thursday night’s All-Star boys basketball game. Alexander had 13 points and teammate Dayshawn Watkins, also of North Little Rock, had 18.
North Little Rock’s Thomas Alexander (top) of the East goes up for a shot against Clarksville’s Dederick Lee of the West during Thursday night’s All-Star boys basketball game. Alexander had 13 points and teammate Dayshawn Watkins, also of North Little Rock, had 18.

CONWAY - About the only thing in doubt in the closing minutes of Thursday night’s Arkansas High School Coaches Association All-Star boys basketball game was whether the East would top the 100-point mark.

The East fell short of that goal but little else in a 98-50 blowout of the West at the Farris Center on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas.

Using the North Little Rock exacta of Dayshawn Watkins and Thomas Alexander, who combined for 31 points, the East claimed the largest margin of victory in 57 years of all-star play.

“This was the first rodeo for me, but my assistant [Bobby Gross of Brookland] has been in six, and he said he had never seen a group this talented,” said North Little Rock Coach Johnny Rice, who coached the East team. “They bought in to what we tried to show them this week and they had a blast.”

The East dominated in almost every category. The winners won the battle of the boards 68-43, and while the East connected on 37 of 82 shots from the floor, the West struggled to hit only 18 of 72 attempts.

The East raced out to a 61-28 halftime advantage, thanks largely to a 10-of-22 three point performance.

“That’s something we knew we were good at from the first day of practice,” Jacksonville’s Justin McCleary said. “We can all shoot the ball.”

Watkins started relatively slow, missing his first shot from the floor and his first two free throws. What followed for the 6-0 guard was video game-like numbers.

Watkins broke an 8-8 tie with a three-pointer with 2:30 left in the first period. He hit three more three-pointers during the next 109 seconds and finished with 16 first-period points.

“I really wasn’t trying to score,” said Watkins, who was named as the game’s MVP. “I was trying to get everyone involved, but they kept leaving me open.”

By the end of period, the East led 23-14.

Alexander, who was selected as the East’s most outstanding player, did his damage in the second period, scoring eight points on two long-range three-pointers and a tomahawk dunk.

After his first-period scoring surge, Watkins did not score again until the final period. He finished his scoring with two free throws at the 2:55 mark.

Watkins finished with 18 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Alexander finished with 13 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Dollarway’s Davine Chapman and Pulaski Academy’s Brandon Brady each added eight points. Cave City’s Chaz Matthews and Conway’s Justin Leon each grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

Travon Harper of Stephens, who hit a dunk with 3:52 remaining in the opening period to give the West an 8-4 lead, led his team with nine points and was named the West’s most outstanding player. Mountain Pine’s Jamal LaFond collected a team-high seven rebounds for the West.

The victory stretched the East’s winning streak in the AHSCA All-Star game to four. The East leads the series 39-29.

The previous most lopsided victory in the boys all-star game came in 1972 when the West posted a 110-74 victory. The 50 points scored by the West was the second lowest output for an all-star team. The lowest was a 39-point effort by the West in 1956, the first year of the all-star game.

McCleary was awarded the Outstanding Camper award for the East, while Alma’s Brock Widders earned the award for the West.

Sports, Pages 26 on 06/21/2013

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