ROGERS — Rogers High did what it had to do to qualify for the Class 7A State Tournament.
But it wasn’t easy.
The Mounties made seven 3-pointers over a 4-minute, 32-second span in the first quarter for a 16-point lead and they then held off a late Springdale Har-Ber rally to post a 55-41 victory in King Arena.
Rogers not only had to beat Har-Ber to advance to the state tournament, but it had to beat the Wildcats by nine or more points.
Har-Ber used an 8-0 run to cut the Rogers lead to 51-41 with 52.7 seconds left, but Keifer Holt and Zach Jones each hit two free throws the final 31 seconds to seal the Mounties’ eighth-straight postseason trip.
“Every time Har-Ber threatened, our kids came up with a play,” Rogers coach Wayne Herren said. “Our guys kids handled the pressure and made the free throws down the stretch.”
Holt finished with 15 points while junior Hunter Hill and freshman Jake Killingsworth added 14 points.
Holt hit a halfcourt shot at the first quarter buzzer that gave Rogers a 26-10 lead.
“Keifer played his heart out tonight,” Herren said. “It was they best performance by a senior on senior night that I have ever had.”
Rogers came out on fire and hit seven 3-pointers for a 26-10 lead at the end of the first period,.
Holt started the barrage with back-to-back 3-pointers for a 11-6 lead and Killingsworth then hit consecutive 3-pointers to up the lead to 17-8.
Hunter Hill then canned two 3-pointers for a 23-10 lead before Holt’s halfcourt shot at the buzzer banked off the glass for the 16-point lead.
‘We said if they came out in a zone, we had to bust them,” Herren said. “The kids responded.”
A layup by Zach Jones gave the Mounties a 30-12 lead, but Har-Ber closed out the first half with a 8-1 run to cut the Mounties lead to 31-20 at halftime.
Rice keyed the run with four free throws and a layup while Ricky Jones added a pair of free throws.
ROGERS HIGH 55, SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 41
Har-Ber 10 10 10 11 — 41
Rogers 26 5 11 13 — 55
Har-Ber (4-10, 9-19): Rice 14, R. Jones 16, L. Jones 3, Mallot 2, Davis 2, Buccheri 2, Jester 2.
Rogers (4-10, 10-17): Holt 15, H. Hill 14, Killingsworth 14, Jones 8, Adams 2, Gentz 1, R. Hill 1.