KeVaughn Allen made sure North Little Rock's miserable week did not turn any worse.
Allen scored 31 points -- 16 in the third quarter and 23 in the second half -- as the No. 3 Charging Wildcats rallied from a 13-point deficit in the game's final 12 minutes for a 68-61 victory over the Cabot Panthers at the North Little Rock arena Friday night.
A day after the program vacated last year's Class 7A state title and forfeited 24 games from the 2013-2014 season, North Little Rock looked shell-shocked against a Cabot team that hit 11 of its first 23 shots and outrebounded the host team 18-10 in the first half.
Allen, who was held to one field goal and eight points in the first two quarters, dominated the third quarter scoring 16 of hits team's first 18 points of the second half. Cabot (11-9, 1-7) still managed to hold a 50-43 advantage heading into the fourth quarter, but North Little Rock (16-5, 7-1) scored the first 11 points of the final eight minutes and never trailed again.
Back-to-back baskets by Allen with 5:45 to play put the Charging Wildcats on top for good.
"KeVaughn is just KeVaughn," Cabot Coach Jerry Bridges said. "I was proud of [Logan Gilbertson] for the way he guarded KeVaughn. There weren't many untested shots he got off. He's just KeVaughn. Good kid. Good character."
Cabot controlled the game's first 20 minutes. Jared Dixon finished with a team-high 18 points while adding five rebounds. Junior Hunter Southerland added 17, 15 of which came in the first half as the Panthers built a 30-20 lead by halftime.
Cabot led 25-11 with 5:02 in the first half. The Panthers' biggest lead of the second half (41-28) came with 3:38 left in the third quarter.
"I don't know if we played hard at the beginning," North Little Rock Coach Johnny Rice said. "Everything seemed to be going Cabot's way. Every 50-50 ball they got, and most of that was on their effort. But I'm proud of our guys. We stepped up in the second half."
Cabot was still within 56-55 with 3:59 to play after two free throws by Jarrod Barnes, but after a free throw Adrian Moore pushed the Charging Wildcats' lead back to two points, back-to-back steals and dunks by 6-10 Sam Dunkum sparked a game-clinching 10-0 run.
Dunkum finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. K.J. Hill added 10 points.
CABOT (61)
Duncan 3 2-2 8, Hill 2 0-0 5, Barnes 1 4-6 7, Southerland 6 2-2 17, Gilbertson 3 0-0 6, Dixon 7 2-3 18, Casteel 0 0-0 0, Stalnaber 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 10-13 61.
NORTH LITTLE ROCK (68)
Hill 3 4-5 10, Duckworth 0 1-2 1, Talbert 1 0-0 2, Allen 10 8-8 31, Moore 2 4-6 8, Dickerson 1 2-2 4, Dunkum 5 2-3 12, Dobbins 0 0-0 0, Taylor 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 21-26 68.
Cabot;16;14;20;11 -- 61
North Little Rock; 7;13;23;25 -- 68
Three-point goals -- Cabot 7 (Southerland 3, Dixon 2, Barnes, Hill). NLR 3 (Allen 3). Team fouls -- Cabot 20, NLR 14. Fouled out -- Southerland.
Sports on 02/07/2015