SPRINGDALE — The fact Springdale Har-Ber didn’t exhibit its best defense Wednesday afternoon hurt the Wildcats. Kenyon McNeaill’s shooting performance only compounded Har-Ber’s troubles.
Conway’s 6-foot senior guard exploded for 26 points during the first three quarters of the Wampus Cats’ 66-46 victory at the Har-Ber Holiday Basketball Tournament. He finished with a game-high 30 to help Conway win Wednesday’s third-place game in Wildcat Arena.
“We just didn’t play very good defense,” Har-Ber coach Eric Burnett said. “There were too many times where we gave up a wide-open 3 or let someone drive right through the heart of our defense. And then (McNeaill) shot it really well.
“We’re not a team that can give up easy baskets like that and beat a team like Conway.”
Har-Ber held the Wampus Cats’ other talented senior, 6-5 forward Preston Purifoy, to only eight points. But the Wildcats (4-8) simply couldn’t keep up with McNeaill, who has committed to play next season at Nebraska.
The Wildcats, who trailed 16-6 after 5 minutes, trimmed Conway’s lead to 32-24 on Matt Bradley’s 3-pointer with 2:10 left in the first half. But McNeaill gave Conway (10-2) a 37-24 halftime lead with a 3-pointer and a steal and layup in the final 11 seconds of the half.
“We talked before the game about the end of quarters because we were really bad at the end of the first three (Tuesday), and they scored seven on us,” Conway coach James Bates said. “It was big for Kenyon to get those five points. We ran a set and were actually trying to hold for one shot, but we ended up with five points.”
Har-Ber battled back to within 45-34 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Michael Trexler and Matt Toomer.
Conway swiftly ripped off a 12-4 run, however, sparked by a McNeaill layup and capped by Micah Delph’s three-point play. McNeaill nailed four of his six shots from 3-point range during the game and also recorded six assists.
“Kenyon sets the tone for us,” Bates said. “If he’s not getting his own shot, he’s getting everyone else good looks. But he shot the ball real well (Wednesday).”
Toomer scored a team-high 18 points for Har-Ber, which shot only 19 of 51 from the floor and attempted only two free throws.
Burnett said McNeaill performed like a player worthy of a Division-I scholarship. McNeaill earned last year’s Most Valuable Player Award at the Har-Ber Holiday Basketball Tournament.
“He didn’t miss a shot until the second half,” Burnett said. “He plays with so much confidence, and that makes a big difference. He knows what he has to do to get his team to win.”
Lakeview Centennial 76, Tulsa Edison 54
Toddrick Gotcher scored a game-high 22 points as Garland (Texas) Lakeview Centennial won the Har-Ber Holiday Basketball Tournament championship game. The Patriots stormed out to a 22-8 lead after one quarter, getting 10 points from Gotcher and six from Chris Copeland during the first 8 minutes.
Gotcher’s 12-foot jumper with 20 seconds left in the first half gave him 16 points and put the Patriots up by 22.
Lakeview Centennial (14-3) led 43-23 at halftime and wasted no time building a 28-point lead early in the third quarter. Ryan Williams scored on a driving layup 18 seconds into the half. And after a defensive stop, Brian Lipsey and Gotcher drained back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Patriots up 51-23.
Steven Hamilton tallied 15 points to lead Edison (9-2), which only got as close as 54-37 in the second half.
Siloam Springs 68, Clear Brook 65
The Panthers claimed fifth place behind a team-high 20 points from Kyle Teague. Payton Henson added 18 for Siloam, which improved to 9-4 this season. Fred Richardson led Franciswood (Texas) Clear Brook with 25 points.
Siloam started strong and led 17-8 after the first quarter. Henson’s 3-pointer put Siloam up 39-22 with 7:02 left in the third, but Clear Brook (8-9) got within 61-55 with 2:25 remaining. The Panthers spent the next minute running clock before Adam Hodge took an ill-advised 3-pointer.
Panthers coach Johnny Taylor grimaced when Hodge released the shot. He started laughing when it dropped through the net. Hodge’s 3-pointer put Siloam up 65-55 with 1:25 left. Clear Brook closed to 68-65 on a Richardson layup with 4 seconds left.
But the Wolverines had no timeouts remaining, and the clock ran out.
Shiloh Christian 40, Greenwood 34
David Eichler led all scorers with 15 points as the Saints won the seventh-place game and snapped a five-game losing streak.
“It was a big deal for our confidence to get a win before our next conference game (Tuesday night at Prairie Grove),” Shiloh coach Brent Hester said “It’s a big deal for our guys to remember what it feels like to win.”
Harlin Trumbo drained an 8-foot jumper to put Shiloh up 9-4 at the end of the first quarter. But Greenwood responded with nine straight points, capped by three Ryan Lensing free throws, to take a 13-9 lead. The Bulldogs led 15-13 at halftime.
Shiloh (5-6) then ripped off an 11-0 run to open the second half. David Matthews had seven points during the spurt, and Shiloh finished the quarter strong, outscoring the Bulldogs 20-6 in the third to lead 33-21. Billyjack Freeman’s three-point play with 37.4 seconds left got Greenwood within 39-34.
But the Bulldogs (3-10) couldn’t get any closer.
All-Tournament Team
Lakeview Centennial’s Toddrick Gotcher, who scored 67 points in three games, earned the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award. His teammate, Chris Copeland, also made the All-Tournament Team.
The following players also landed on the All-Tournament Team: Tulsa Edison’s Desmond Bulter and Steven Hamilton, Conway’s Kenyon McNeaill and Preston Purifoy, Springdale Har-Ber’s Chris Bayles and Matt Toomer, Clear Brook’s Fred Richardson, Siloam Springs’ Kyle Teague and Greenwood’s Brandon Brewer.