SILOAM SPRINGS — Payton Henson had a huge night, and Siloam Springs needed every bit of it to finish off Springdale Har-Ber on Friday.

Henson poured in 39 points and the Panthers pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 69-62 win at Panther Activity Center in the 7A/6A-West Conference opener for both teams.

The Panthers opened a quick 13-point lead in the first quarter, but by halftime Har-Ber had trimmed it down to 33-30 and the Wildcats took a 47-46 lead in the third quarter on a basket by Brandon Buccheri.

Henson got the lead back quickly for the Panthers, and they never trailed again, though Har-Ber stayed close until midway through the fourth.

“A lot of credit goes to Har-Ber because they’re not going to lay down,” Siloam Springs boys basketball coach Tim Stewart. “There were several times they could have just laid down, and they fought back.”

The Wildcats (5-10, 0-1 7A/6A-West) trailed 52-50 in the fourth after a free throw from Austin Fox. A basket down low by Dylan Gray opened up a four-point lead.

Henson scored a rare four-point play with a three-pointer and foul with 3 minutes, 7 seconds left to give Siloam Springs a 62-54 lead. The Panthers (11-1, 1-0) led by as many as 12 late in the game before Har-Ber cut the lead to single digits in the final minute.

“We talked about that after the game,” Har-Ber coach Adam Simmons said. “You can’t, especially in conference play, go through a two- to three-minute lull where shots aren’t falling. You’ve got to find a way to get buckets. You’ve got to find a way to finish around the basket.

“It’s a physical league. You’ve just got to find ways to finish.”

Henson had 17 points at halftime before exploding for 15 points in the third quarter. He finished 13 of 16 from the field, including a pair of dunks, with 12 rebounds and two blocked shots.

“It’s really a blue-collar 39. It’s nothing where he tries to force it,” Stewart said. “I was really proud of our kids. We had 18 assists tonight, and that’s hard to play against.”

Siloam Springs had three players score seven points each in Dylan Gray, Reece Goddard and Raul Leyva. Of the Panthers’ 18 assists, point guard Austin Comiskey had seven to just one turnover.

Alex Rice led Har-Ber with 16 points, while Fox had 15, Braxton Jester added nine and Buccheri finished with eight.

SILOAM SPRINGS 69, SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 62

Har-Ber 15 15 19 13 — 62

Siloam Springs 23 10 19 17 — 69

Har-Ber (5-10, 0-1): Rice 16, Fox 15, Jester 9, Buccheri 8, Jones 6, R. Jones 3, Davis 3, Malott 2.

Siloam Springs (11-1, 1-0): Henson 39, Goddard 7, Leyva 7, Gray 7, Seliga 6, Van Poucke 2, Comiskey 1.