FAYETTEVILLE — Nick Smith admitted he had never dunked the ball three times in a game.
He was given the opportunity Wednesday night, and Bentonville’s senior forward capitalized on the moment. Smith had one in each of the first three quarter as the Tigers rolled to a 73-38 first-round victory over Little Rock Central.
The third dunk wasn’t pretty, it was effective. It began a 13-2 run to start the second half as Bentonville (20-8) stretched a 10-point halftime lead into a 46-25 margin on Tyrik Dixon’s bucket midway into the third quarter.
“It was well-contested, so it was hard,” Smith said. “But it got in. Two points is two points.”
Little Rock Central (6-17) — the sixth seed from the 7A-Central — had no answer for the 6-foot-8 Smith, who enjoyed at least a four-inch height advantage over anybody who guarded him. He outscored the opposing Tigers 10-7 in the first quarter and finished with a game-high 31 points, hitting 12 of 21 from the floor and all seven free-throw tries.
BENTONVILLE 73, LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL 38
LR Central 7 16 10 5 — 38
Bentonville 18 15 25 15 — 73
LR Central (6-17): Nichols 15, Higgins 8, Nelson 7, Carrothers 6, Dortch 2.
Bentonville (20-8): Smith 31, Heard 18, Bachman 6, Haggard 5, Ward 5, Dixon 4, Head 2, McNee 2.
While Smith enjoyed a personal feat, Bentonville enjoyed two team accomplishments. The Tigers, who will play Fort Smith Northside at 8:30 p.m. today, earned their first state tournament victory since 2003 and reached the 20-win mark for the first time in at least 25 years.
“That’s big for us,” Bentonville coach Jason McMahan said. “We really wanted it for this group.”
“That’s been a goal for us. There’s been a lot of work, a lot of sweat and a lot of emotion to get those. Now we can move on and play the next one.”
Bentonville never trailed but only led 9-7 through the first 5 1/2 minutes despite forcing a number of Central turnovers. Smith and Aaron Ward changed that over the next 2 minutes, 18 seconds, as they combined for the next nine points and made it an 18-7 game at the end of the first quarter.
The Tigers’ lead never dropped six points again. Their defense held Central to 13 of 53 shooting from the floor, and Bentonville enjoyed a 37-18 advantage in rebounding.
“There’s no doubt that our defense is what we hang our hat on,” McMahan said. “That set the tone. All of their shots were contested, and I thought we really did a good job on that.”
Austin Heard added 18 points for Bentonville. Kylon Nichols was the only Central player in double figures with 15.