North Little Rock had plenty of offensive punch Friday night.
Senior guard KeVaughn Allen scored 28 points and junior Adrian Moore added 19 as the host Charging Wildcats rolled to an 87-69 victory over Little Rock McClellan in the late semifinal game at the Jammin' for Jackets tournament.
At a glance
TODAY’S GAMES
CHAMPIONSHIP
Little Rock Parkview vs. North Little Rock, 5:30 p.m.
THIRD-PLACE GAME
Episcopal Collegiate vs. Little Rock Mc-Clellan, 4 p.m.
FIFTH-PLACE GAME
Mills vs. Little Rock Hall, 2:30 p.m.
SEVENTH-PLACE GAME
Little Rock Central vs. Little Rock Fair, 1 p.m.
North Little Rock never trailed, led 39-33 at the half and quickly built a 10-point-plus lead in the second half.
"I knew it was going to be a big test because of the way McClellan plays," North Little Rock Coach Johnny Rice said. "It's constant. They're coming at you, both offensively and defensively.
"The big question mark for our guys is how tough you are. To sustain that and keep playing and get into sets, you just have to get to your spot and make plays. I wanted to challenge our guys, and I thought we stepped up."
North Little Rock (6-1) will play defending Jammin' for Jackets champion Little Rock Parkview in tonight's championship game. McClellan (5-3) plays Episcopal in the third-place game.
Junior Andre Jones led the Lions with 23 points while senior guard Keith Hayes scored 13 of his 20 points in the second half. No other McClellan player had more than six points.
McClellan Coach Chris Threatt said his team failed to take advantage of some opportunities in the first half that could have turned the game in the Lions' favor.
"We missed layups that were swing plays," Threatt said. "There was a point where they were up by six, we missed a layup on our end, and they hit a three on the other end. That's a five-point swing. Two possessions later, we missed another layup.
"Those type of plays against a two-time defending state champion that will get you beat."
Allen led the Charging Wildcats' charge by hitting 11 field goals, including five dunks and a three-pointer. Moore connected on four three-pointers. K.J. Hill added 13 points and Jarvis Ricks 10.
"There were times we became stagnant and [KeVaughn] made some big plays, especially in the middle second half when it was still a 12- or 13-point game," Rice said. "He made some big plays, but he's been doing that for three years now"
McCLELLAN (69)
Jones 9 3-3 23, Ka. Hayes 1 0-0 2, Johnson 2 1-1 5, Ellis 1 0-0 3, Strong 3 0-0 6, Harris 1 1-4 4, Molden 0 0-0 0, Hall 3 0-0 6, K. Hayes 6 7-7 20. Totals 26 12-15 69.
NORTH LITTLE ROCK (87)
Ricks 3 4-4 10, Hill 5 1-1 13, Duckworth 0 0-0 0, Talbert 1 0-1 2, Allen 11 5-6 28, Moore 7 1-2 19, Dickerson 1 0-0 2, Dunkum 1 3-4 5, Morgan 1 0-0 2, Dobbins 0 0-0 0, Taylor 3 0-0 6. Totals 33 14-18 87.
Halftime -- NLR 39, McClellan 33. Three-point goals -- McClellan 5 (Jones 2, Ellis, Harris, K. Hayes); NLR 7 (Moore 4, Hill 2, Allen). Team fouls -- McClellan 13, NLR 13.
Sports on 12/13/2014