7A/6A-EAST BOYS

Dunkum, Hill save Wildcats

WEST MEMPHIS -- Senior K.J. Hill hit two free throws with 8.1 seconds left in overtime and teammate Sam Dunkum came up with a key blocked shot on the other end as North Little Rock held off West Memphis 53-51 on Tuesday night.

North Little Rock (15-4, 6-1 7A/6A-East Conference) fought off an upset when senior standout Kevaughn Allen, who led all scorers with 22 points, went the length of the floor for a layup at the regulation buzzer.

West Memphis (8-11, 3-3) led 46-43 with 33.5 seconds to play, but Dunkum made two free throws with 19 seconds left to make it a one-point game. West Memphis' Gary Henderson -- who led the Blue Devils with 18 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter -- was fouled on the other end with 13.5 seconds to play.

He split the two free throws, and Allen took the inbounds pass, raced past four West Memphis defenders and rose above the fifth for the game-tying layup.

"Kevaughn stepped up down the stretch," North Little Rock Coach Johnny Rice said. "He went full speed down the court. That's as fast as he can take it."

In overtime, with the Charging Wildcats holding for the final shot, Hill's teammates cleared out a path for him and he took advantage, cutting past Henderson at the top of the free-throw circle and drawing the foul. He made both free throws.

"I was clearly thinking of drawing the foul," Hill said. "I was just waiting for [Henderson] to give me enough space to make my move."

After a West Memphis shot was knocked out of bounds, the Blue Devils had one more shot with 1.6 seconds to play. Senior point guard Rai East was open under the basket momentarily, but Dunkum came from behind to swat it off the backboard at the buzzer.

Dunkum added eight points for North Little Rock and Hill had seven.

Darius Williams added 16 points for West Memphis, while Gary Ward came off the bench for eight.

Sports on 01/28/2015

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