FAYETTEVILLE — For the past two seasons, no conference opponent has defeated the Fayetteville boys’ basketball team on the court.
That Figures:
1 Conference opponents Fayetteville has beaten by less than double-digits.
4 Consecutive victories for Fayetteville girls, a season-best win streak
2010 — Most recent conference championship for Fayetteville boys before earning outright title on Friday
But despite the two-year run of dominance, the Bulldogs — led by a strong senior class — had to wait until Friday to claim the school’s first 7A/6A-West Conference championship since 2009-10. While Fayetteville didn’t actually lose on the floor last year, four games were lost to forfeit due to the use of an ineligible player, forcing the senior class to wait until this season to get their conference crown.
“I was blessed to get this group coming in as sophomores,” Fayetteville coach Kyle Adams said. “Truly they’ve been amazing and they haven’t lost on their home floor or in this conference in two years.
“I lost four (games), but they haven’t lost any and that’s what I tell them all the time. And they deserve the crowd that was here tonight (against Springdale). They deserve that everytime they step out on the floor because they’re so exciting to watch. If I was just a fan I would love to come watch those guys play, because they’re high-flying, high-pace and hard-nosed players.”
Seniors Tre’ Boyd, Chase Carney, Robert Gooderl, Kaplan Maurer, Tyler McCullough, Cameron Paschke, Ja’wan Smith, Caleb Waitsman, Manuale Watkins, and Chasen Williamson played in their final regular season game Friday. Senior Night didn’t come without a fight, either, as rival Springdale High stayed within striking distance until the closing minute in a 64-58 Purple Bulldogs win.
The seniors aren’t quite done with Bulldog Arena, though, as the Class 7A state tournament will be held in Fayetteville from Feb. 27 to March 2.
Plays of the Week: The Fayetteville girls ran its winning streak to three games on Tuesday with a 50-40 win at Siloam Springs, and a couple of key possessions turned the game in the Lady Bulldogs’ favor for good. After Siloam Springs had pulled to within 41-38 midway through the fourth quarter, Fayetteville came out of a timeout and got two free throws from Mollie Brewer and a follow-up transition basket from Aubrey Edie to build the lead back up to seven.
The Bulldogs were pushed to the limit against Springdale Friday, but two defensive stops on the Red’Dogs final two possessions made the biggest difference. DeShaun Stark missed a long-range 3-pointer with Springdale down and Fayetteville added a late steal and Ja’wan Smith dunk that helped put the game away.
Players of the Week: Sophomore guard Jaylah Prude is out for the season with a torn ACL/MCL for the Lady Bulldogs. But just before the injury occurred in the second quarter of Tuesday’s win at Siloam Springs, Prude had already scored 12 first-half points to help Fayetteville get the win.
Watkins put on a one-man show in the first half against Springdale, scoring 18 of his game-high 25 points.
Notable: The Lady Bulldogs current four-game win streak is the longest of the season. ... Fayetteville alum Ronnie Brewer attended Friday’s game, as did fellow former Razorback Corliss Williamson, who escorted his son Chasen on Senior Night. ... The Fayetteville boys are now 17-0 overall and 14-0 in conference at home over the past two seasons. although they had to forfeit four wins last season.
The Lingo: “There’s no doubt there’s more confidence now and we see it and we feel it. We really wish we could go back to the start of the season with the way we’re playing now. But you can tell by how much I’m talking about it that I’m excited about things.”
— Vic Rimmer, Fayetteville girls basketball coach
Up Next: Fayetteville closes out the regular season with a pair of road games this week. The Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs travel to Springdale Har-Ber on Tuesday and then visit Bentonville on Friday.