7A/6A-EAST BOYS

NLR quells Central with 3-point barrage

North Little Rock and Little Rock Central got to finish their game this time, but it was still over early.

North Little Rock made 12 three-point baskets and dominated in nearly every facet of the game to roll to an 83-54, mercy-rule victory on Friday at Charging Wildcats Gymnasium.

K.J. Hill and Jawan Eldridge each scored 18 points to lead North Little Rock (23-2, 13-1), which shared the 7A/6A-East conference title with Jonesboro but will be a No. 1 seed in next week’s Class 7A state tournament in Conway. KeVaughn Allen added 16 points.

Kylon Nichols led Central (7-17, 4-10) with 14 points. Sean Carrouthers finished with 12.

North Little Rock won the earlier meeting between the two teams 67-51, but the game was called with 52 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter because fans at Little Rock Central would not leave the court. There would be no such problems in the regular-season finale.

The Charging Wildcats led from start to finish, with the lead reaching 37 at one points in the fourth quarter.

North Little Rock got off to a quick start behind the hot shooting of Eldridge, a senior guard, and led 22-13 after the first quarter. Eldridge made his first five three-pointers in the period, then made a sixth midway through the second as North Little Rock went up by 15.

The Charging Wildcats led by as many as 25 in the second quarter before Central sliced it to 21 points at halftime.

North Little Rock continued piling up the points in the third quarter, with Hill, a junior, nearly matching Central point for point. Hill scored 15 points in the period, including a three-pointer at the buzzer to give his team a 28-point cushion.

The Charging Wildcats eventually invoked a running clock on Hill’s floater with 6:45 left in the game.

North Little Rock finished the game 32 of 60 from the floor. Central hit 50 percent of its shots (20 of 40) were out rebounded 36-19.

Sports, Pages 24 on 03/01/2014

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