By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
North Little Rock got its fourth win of the season and Jacksonville dropped its opener on Tuesday, as the Charging Wildcats beat the Red Devils 62-53 at North Little Rock Arena.
North Little Rock seemed on the verge of putting Jacksonville away, but ended up just holding the Red Devils off late in the second half.
Three big momentum shifts in the first three minutes of the third quarter culminated in the home team taking control for the remainder of the game.
North Little Rock led 31-27 at halftime and scored the first six points of the third quarter to take the first double-digit lead of the game with 6:30 on the clock. Jacksonville answered with a 10-0 run that tied the game with 4:20 left in the third. Wildcats’ coach Johnny Rice called timeout and Jacksonville floundered after the break.
North Little Rock’s Kevaughn Allen scored out of the break for a two-point Wildcat lead. Jacksonville then threw the ball away on its next possession, and was called for a backcourt violation on the one after that. North Little Rock turned both turnovers into points for a 43-37 lead with 1:42 left in the third. Jacksonville never got within five points the rest of the way.
“That’s a great win for us because Jacksonville, year in and year out, is one of the best programs in the state,” Rice said. “I know that was their first game but that’s a talented team. We play them again pretty soon at their place, so we’ll see an even better team next time.”
North Little Rock made just 16 of 30 free-throw attempts, but hit 9 of 13 in the fourth quarter to hold off a Jacksonville rally. The Wildcats also pulled off a rare feat of out-rebounding the Red Devils, and forced 20 Jacksonville turnovers.
Despite the loss, Jacksonville coach Vic Joyner was at ease following the game.
“That’s a talented team to open up against at their place,” Joyner said. “We just don’t have ourselves in sync yet. You could just tell that timing was off. This whole team, it’s all new for them. We only have two players that really played a lot last year and they’re going to have to play together a little bit to get all the timing and everything down. We got a lot of work to do, but I saw some good things tonight too.”
Both teams made 21 field goals. Jacksonville attempted 55 while the Wildcats shot it 49 times. North Little Rock went 4 of 8 from three-point range while Jacksonville was just 3 of 17 from the same distance.
North Little Rock finished with a 31-21 advantage on rebounds and also committed 20 turnovers. Jacksonville was 8 of 12 from the free-throw line.
A deep bench has been a strong suit for the high-scoring Wildcats this season. Two games ago, North Little Rock had nine players score in the first quarter. Only eight players scored against Jacksonville and the bench contributed just 11 total points, but five came from three-year starter Gary Vines, who came off the bench after practicing for the first time the day before. Vines is also a standout safety on the football team that just completed its season the previous Friday.
“Depth has been and will continue to be a strength for us,” Rice said. “Gary is a three-year starter but he’s literally had one practice. It’s just going to be different guys for us on different nights, but we’re going to get plenty of production from our bench this year.”
Allen led all scorers with 15 points. Thomas Alexander added 14 and DayShawn Watkins scored 13 for the Charging Wildcats. Justin McCleary led Jacksonville with 14 points while Khaleel Hart added 10 for the Red Devils. Aaron Smith, Keith Charleston and Sergio Berkley each scored nine for Jacksonville.
Both teams play today in the Battle of the Border at Little Rock Hall today. Jacksonville faced Olive Branch, Miss. at 3 p.m. North Little Rock follows at 4:30 p.m. against Memphis-East.
Next week, Jacksonville takes part in the Wampus Cat Invitational at Conway High School, while North Little Rock goes back to Hall for the Jammin for Jackets tournament that runs Thursday through Saturday. The two teams meet again on Dec. 11 at JHS.
