NEOSHO, Mo. — McDonald County, Mo., coach Mike Austin saw his young team grow up in a hurry Tuesday.
The Mustangs erased a 15-point deficit in the second half and knocked off Bentonville 49-48 during the second day of the 55th annual Neosho Holiday Classic.
The Mustangs, who graduated eight players from last year, trailed 38-23 midway through the third but caught the Tigers (4-7) with 4:15 left in the game on Mason Haddock’s 3-pointer.
Senior 6-foot-6 center Michael Bridenstine hit three straight baskets during an 11-2 run, and Haddock tied the game at 42 with his trey.
McDonald County took its first lead since the first quarter on Sy Morris’ driving layup with 55 seconds and — after Bentonville’s Mason Snow scored on a reverse layup for a 48-47 lead — Charlie Bridenstine put back a miss with eight seconds for the win.
The Mustangs advance to play Carthage, Mo., at 4 p.m. today. The Tigers fall to a consolation game against Morrilton at 10:30 a.m.
Bridenstine and three fourth-quarter charges called against the Tigers changed the momentum of the game.
“Michael just showed up in the second half,” Mustangs coach Mike Austin said. “The last couple of games Mike hasn’t been in the flow of the game and I told him ‘if you go, we go.’”
Bridenstine had 14 of his game-high 18 points in the second half.
He started the Mustangs’ rally by scoring all of McDonald County’s eight points in the third quarter.
Bridenstine outscored the Tigers 8-2 in the final four minutes of the period, hitting three straight shots to cut the lead to 40-31.
The Tigers did a poor job on the defensive boards in the second half and gave the Mustangs (2-8) too many second chances. The charges in the final peroid then made Bentonville’s offense hesitant.
“We lost some aggression defensively,” Bentonville coach Jason McMahan said. “And we lost it because of the charges on offense. McDonald County picked (its aggression) up at that point.”
Until Bridenstine’s scoring spree, the Tigers were in control.
Bentonville started the third quarter with an 8-0 run, fueled by four Mustang turnovers.
Drew Myers, who had a team-high 14 points in Monday’s first-round loss to host Neosho, led the Tigers with 12 on Tuesday.
Myers had eight points in the second quarter, helping break open a 16-all game. He had a three-point play and a 3-pointer for a 25-18 lead. The Tigers led by as many as 10 before taking a 30-23 lead into the half.
The Bentonville Lady Tigers also played Tuesday in Neosho but their quarterfinal game ended past press deadlines.
The Lady Tigers played Seneca, Mo., in Tuesday’s final game. A win would move the Lady Tigers into today’s 5:30 semifinal at Neosho Middle School. A loss would drop Bentonville to a consolation game at noon.
NOTE: Bentonville senior forward Jon Koonce was back on the bench but did not play Tuesday after a concussion knocked him out of Monday’s game. Koonce hit the floor hard and Neosho center Marcus Middleton landed on him after a play under the basket. Koonce was kept still for nearly 20 minutes and taken out of the gym on a stretcher as a precaution.