BENTONVILLE — Austin Heard came up with big shots just when Bentonville needed it most.

Heard hit back-to-back 3-pointers to start the fourth quarter and kickstart a 10-0 run in the Tigers’ 55-44 win on Friday inside Tiger Arena. The win was the fifth straight for the Tigers (19-6, 9-3), while Siloam Springs (17-6, 7-5) dropped its second in a row.

Bentonville led by as many as 17 points in the third quarter after Tyrik Dixon, Heard and Nick Smith all connected from 3-point distance as the Tigers scored the first 11 points of the third quarter. But Siloam Springs (17-6, 7-5) closed the third on a 15-2 run and trailed 35-31 going into the fourth quarter.

After Austin Comiskey split a pair of free throws to open the period to bring Siloam Springs within 35-32, Heard then connected from the wing for a 38-32 lead.

The Tigers senior shooter then canned a trey from the other wing for a 41-32 lead.

“The leadership of Austin to pull everybody together, and then he demonstrated it,” Bentonville coach Jason McMahan said. “We thought he is what separates us from some of these teams because he’s such a good player.”

Smith and Dixon followed up with baskets for a 45-32 lead. Reece Goddard ended the Panthers’ near five-minute scoring drought with a basket inside.

Siloam Springs made one last push and cut the lead to eight when Comiskey hit a 3-pointer, but Bentonville’s combination of Dixon, Heard and Austin Haggard hit 7-of-8 foul shots to close the door on the Panthers.

“I told our kids we dug a hole there and weren’t being very aggressive,” said Panthers coach Tim Stewart. “We got in some foul trouble. We challenged our kids and were able to cut the lead to three. Then we had some things happen that weren’t in our favor and we weren’t quite able to overcome.”

Siloam Springs all-state forward Payton Henson fouled out with 2:40 left in the game. He picked up his third foul with 5:49 left in the third and had to sit the rest of the first half. Henson and Goddard each scored 15 points.

The Panthers also lost forward Dylan Gray to a knee injury in the fourth quarter.

Heard hit six 3-pointers on the night and finished with 19 points. Smith scored Bentonville’s first eight points and led with a game-high 21. Dixon added 10 points for the Tigers.

BENTONVILLE 55, SILOAM SPRINGS 44

Siloam Springs 12 4 15 13 — 44

Bentonville 11 11 13 20 — 55

Siloam Springs (17-6, 7-5): Reece Goddard 15, Payton Henson 15, Dylan Gray 8, Austin Comiskey 5, Nick Seliga 1.

Bentonville (19-6, 9-3): Nick Smith 21, Austin Heard 19, Tyrik Dixon 10, Austin Haggard 5.