FORT SMITH - Springdale High made a statement Friday night.
The Bulldogs cruised to a marquee victory over Fort Smith Northside in a matchup of two of the state’s top Class 7A teams at the Fort Smith Coke Classic.
Springdale never trailed, led by as many as 20 in the first half and cruised to a convincing 64-50 win, punching its ticket to the tournament championship game against defending 7A state champion North Little Rock today.
The Bulldogs (7-0) remained unbeaten and were impressive in their biggest test of the early season.
“We had had tremendous focus,” Springdale coach Brad Stamps said. “You could see it in our guys’ eyes. … I thought we were ready to play when we started. You could tell when we came in before the game that the guys were just ready to play.”
Springdale led 8-2 early, then pushed the lead to 34-14early in the second quarter at the Stubblefield Center. The Bulldogs bench played a key role in establishing the big lead that Northside (5-4) was never able to recover from.
Junior guard Tyler Tutt came off the bench to score all 10 of his points in the fi rst half, hitting 4 of 7 shots and 2 of 3 3-pointers after entering the game just 3 of 10 from 3-point range this year. He scored seven straight Springdale points late in the first quarter as the Bulldogs started pulling away.
“Tyler Tutt was big,” Stamps said. “He neededthat for his confi dence. Our kids believe in him. They’ve never lost faith in him. But he needed that for his confi - dence.”
Sophomore Drake Wymer was active off the bench, leading Springdale with 12 points, while also chipping in seven rebounds and four blocks. He provided a spark with Bulldog big men Josiah Wymer and Brendan Cook battling foul trouble throughout.
“I thought Drake Wymer was huge,” Stamps said. “He played hard, got a few big tip-ins. That’s what expect. He’s a sophomore coming in and we expect big things out of him.”
Springdale broke the Northside press early and capitalized by getting good looks at the rim or open 3-point shots. The Bulldogs hit 50 percent from the f ield for the game, while Northside shot just 31 percent, missing numerous shots at the rim in its worst shooting performance of the year.
“I think it’s all on them to just go out and perform,” Northside coach EricBurnett said. “Just have to play. Put the ball in the hole and do what they’ve been coached to do. Do your job.”
Junior Stephon Barron was a bright spot for Northside, finishing with a team-high 12 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. He helped the Grizzlies made several mini-runs, but they never seriously threatened and couldn’t get closer than 10 points once the lead hit double digits.
The Springdale-North Little Rock title game will tip off at 6 p.m. and will pit the Bulldogs against the consensus favorite to win the 7A state title.
“It was an opportunity when we looked at the tournament and the bracket coming in,” Stamps said. “We felt like we were going to play a good Bryant team. If we could beat them, it sets up a game where we could play Northside and North Little Rock on backto-back nights. Now we get that opportunity to kind of see where we’re at. We know North Little Rock is good. And as a competitor, that’s what you want.”
Sports, Pages 6 on 12/28/2013