FORT SMITH — North Little Rock cut it close in the fourth quarter Friday night, but the Charging Wildcats held off a rally by Fort Smith Northside to advance to the Coke Classic championship game.
Dayshawn Watkins scored a game-high 20 points, Thomas Alexander added 16 points with a pair of dunks, and Kevaughn Allen finished with 12 points in a 62-50 victory at the Stubblefield Center.
Fort Smith Northside trailed by 10 at halftime but cut the lead to 48-43 in the fourth quarter with back-to back three-pointers by Chris Eckes.
“Those shots gave us a chance,” Fort Smith Northside Coach Eric Burnett said. “Our team gets excited when we knock those down, but we just missed too many easy shots and free throws. You can’t beat a team like that without those.”
Gary Vines made 7 of 8 free throws and scored 9 points in the second half to help the Charging Wildcats (10-1) pull away from the Grizzlies (8-5) late.
“They play fast and shoot threes, and I didn’t want to get caught up in that,” North Little Rock Coach Johnny Rice said. “I was disappointed that we didn’t just finish it off when we got up big, but they are a good team.”
Deonate Woodbridge led Northside with 10 points, and Eckes finished with eight.
North Little Rock started out hot offensively and took a 10-4 lead when Allen - who scored 11 points in the first half - made his first three pointer of the game.
Northside cut the lead to 20-19 in the second quarter, using a 10-4 run that was sparked by Woodbridge, who came off the bench to score nine points in the half. But when the Grizzlies’ offense sputtered, Allen found his stroke again.
Allen hit his second three pointer of the half to ignite a 12-3 run to end the second quarter as the Charging Wildcats took a 32-22 lead into halftime.
Alexander provided some highlights with two dunks just out of halftime. One gave North Little Rock a 37-22 lead, and the other gave the Charging Wildcats a 44-27 lead.
“His versatility brings a lot to this team,” Rice said. “He is one of the biggest mismatches in the state. He can do it all for us, and he brings excitement to our team out on the break.”
The 10-4 run to open the second half was just what North Little Rock needed to advance to tonight’s 6 p.m. championship game.
“We played well, but North Little Rock isn’t No. 1 in the state for nothing,” Burnett said. “We came out and played well, but there was a stretch in the second quarter we struggled to get back into the game.”
SPRINGDALE 66, FORT SMITH SOUTHSIDE 42
Senior forward Alex Scharlau made sure his team was going to be in the Coca-Cola Classic final.
Scharlau came out shooting and rarely missed, making six three-pointers on the way to a game-high 20 points in a victory against Fort Smith Southside.
“Every shot he takes it feels as if it is going in,” Springdale Coach Brad Stamps said. “When he gets it going, he spreads the defense around. The rim sure did seem big tonight.”
Scharlau made five three-pointers in the first half and was a big part of a huge first quarter that put the game well out of reach as Springdale led 22-5 going into the second quarter.
The Rebels (4-9) made a run to cut it to 34-20 going into halftime, but the Bulldogs (8 -4) slowly pulled away again in the second half.
Dashaun Stark added 11 points and Tereke Eckwood had 10 to help put away the Rebels.
“I thought our intensity level was great to start the game,” Stamps said. “That’s where it needs to be in a semifinal game. It was the best it has been in a while.”
Issac Jackson came off the bench and led the Rebels in scoring with eight points.
Springdale will face North Little Rock in the final at 6 p.m. tonight.
“We knew coming in here we needed to play our best to beat a good team,” Stamps said. “Now we get a chance to beat the best team in Arkansas. We have an opportunity to go out and play and see what happens.”
Sports, Pages 24 on 12/29/2012