Tight-knit Allen, Beard put North Little Rock success aside

Arkansas' Anton Beard goes through practice Wednesday, March 9, 2016, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.
Arkansas' Anton Beard goes through practice Wednesday, March 9, 2016, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The last time Anton Beard and KeVaughn Allen were on the court together in a tournament game, they combined to score 57 points and lead North Little Rock High School to the Arkansas Class 7A state championship.

That was March 13, 2014.

Beard scored 29 points and Allen 28 in the Charging Wildcats' 89-81 victory over Springdale at Summit Arena in Hot Springs. Beard was the tournament MVP.

"That game was a lot of fun," Allen said Wednesday. "It was always fun playing with Anton.

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"On the court, he's always pushing you and encouraging you to do your best."

Beard and Allen will be back on the court together today in another tournament, but this time they'll try to knock out each other's team.

Beard is a sophomore guard for Arkansas (16-15). Allen is a freshman guard for Florida (18-13), which plays the Razorbacks at noon in the SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena.

An Arkansas loss will end the Razorbacks' season. A Florida loss will end the Gators' NCAA Tournament hopes.

"It's going to be exciting playing Anton," Allen said. "I know both of us are going to give it everything we've got for our team."

Allen and Beard may play for competing SEC teams, but they're still friends.

"We've very close," Allen said. "We check in with each other at least twice a week."

Allen said he and Beard most recently exchanged text messages Monday.

"Just seeing how each of us is doing," Allen said.

Beard wasn't doing well for several weeks after being arrested July 22 on suspicion of passing counterfeit money at Fayetteville businesses, which resulted in his immediate suspension from all team activities with the Razorbacks and in September led to three counts of first-degree felony forgery.

After pleading not guilty, Beard agreed to enter a drug court diversion program -- which is designed to address first-time, nonviolent offenses -- and was reinstated to the team Nov. 16, allowing him to practice. He played his first game Dec. 18 against Mercer.

Beard, who continued to attend classes while on suspension, hasn't had any disciplinary issues since returning to the team and at times has provided a lift off the bench. He's played especially well in some road games, including scoring 18 points at Georgia, 15 at Dayton, 14 at Missouri, 11 at LSU and 10 at Tennessee.

"I think he's handled it about as best as you can," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. "I mean, that's a lot on a young kid.

"You've got to remember he's only 19 years old, and to be thrown right into the middle of the season, you don't know how he's going to respond.

"But I see him getting back to the old Anton. He's having an impact on the game on defense, digging into some balls, rebounding, making some tough plays for us. He's a toughness kind of guy."

Beard, who wasn't made available for an interview Wednesday, is averaging 7.0 points, 2.2 rebounds and 20.2 minutes in 22 games, including one start.

As a freshman, Beard started the final 16 games for Arkansas' 27-9 team that reached the SEC Tournament final before losing to Kentucky and played two games in the NCAA Tournament, beating Wofford and losing to North Carolina.

Anderson said Beard's tournament experience last year should be a plus today.

"We're going to lean on him," Anderson said. "Hopefully, he's got some hunger, because he's only played half of a season."

Arkansas senior guard Jabril Durham said it's been good to have Beard back with the team.

"He adds toughness and grit when he's out there on the court," Durham said. "When teams are being physical with us, we need physical guys out there, and Anton brings that every game."

Allen has started 29 of 31 games his season and made the SEC All-Freshman Team as voted on by the coaches. He's averaging 11.5 points and 2.6 rebounds in 26.7 minutes.

"KeVaughn's got the ability to create his own shot any time he wants," Florida Coach Mike White said. "He's made good decisions with the basketball. Being solid with the ball has been a strength of his.

"Throughout the season, he's continued to improve defensively. He's a really talented defender with his strength and hand and foot quickness."

Allen has been at his best in some of Florida's toughest games. He averaged 12.3 points in 18 SEC games and scored 27 and 15 against Ole Miss, 19 and 18 against Georgia, 18 against Tennessee, 16 against Vanderbilt and 15 against Kentucky. In nonconference play, he scored a season-high 32 against Florida State and 19 against West Virginia.

When Florida beat Arkansas 87-83 at the O'Connell Center on Feb. 3, Allen hit the game-clinching free throws with 5.6 seconds left to finish with 10 points.

"At the end of the day, his ceiling is to be a really, really good defender, and I think he'll go from being a streaky shooter to a really good shooter," White said. "In time, I think he'll be a guy that has more opportunity to play with the ball in his hands as well.

"He's a terrific talent. He's had some really good games for us as a freshman. We expect him to have a great career."

Allen is the Gators' second-leading scorer in SEC play behind senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith, who is averaging 15.4 points.

"KeVaughn has been really big for the team," Florida sophomore forward Devin Robinson said. "I knew he was going to break out at some point in the season.

"He was rough at the beginning, but he just needed to get his confidence and get used to the flow of college basketball. With his work ethic, I knew it was going to happen for him sooner or later."

Allen said he didn't know what to expect this season, and he's thankful to be on the SEC All-Freshman Team.

"I'm a little bit surprised," he said. "But with the hard work I put in, I felt I earned everything."

Allen said that when Beard was suspended at Arkansas, they continued to stay in touch.

"I kept checking in to make sure he was all right and told him to keep his head up," Allen said. "I think he handled it all pretty well."

Sports on 03/10/2016

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