Tigers Beat Pointers Again

BENTONVILLE OPENS LEAGUE PLAY WITH FAMILIAR RESULT

— Bentonville’s boys started 7A/6AWest Conference basketball play almost the same way they ended the Citizens Bank Classic.

The Tigers opened league play on their home floor and came away with a 57-51 victory over Van Buren, almost five weeks after they defeated the Pointers 58-53 during the tournament fi nal on Van Buren’s court.

Bentonville (11-3, 1-0) never could pull away from Van Buren but managed to keep the Pointers out of reach in the fourth quarter. The Tigers finally found some distance in the final two minutes as Nick Smith’s putback and free throws by Tyrik Dixon and Austin Haggard gave the Tigers a 57-49 cushion with 45.6 seconds remaining.

Bentonville had a much easier time in the girls game. The Lady Tigers (13-1, 1-0) took control with 14 unanswered points in the first quarter and rolled from there to a 57-33 victory over Van Buren.

The early run gave Bentonville a quick 14-3 lead, and the Lady Tigers’ lead never dropped below eight points. Bentonville’s biggest lead came when Julia Garrard’s three-point play made the score 53-28 with 5:21 left.

PLAY OF THE NIGHT: Senior forward Aaron Ward received a pass from Haggard and scored inside to give Bentonville a 39-38 lead with 1:35 remaining in the third quarter, and the Tigers never trailed again.

PLAYERS OF THE GAMES: Ward, a 6-foot-6 senior forward, scored seven of his eight points in the third quarter, helping Bentonville erase a five-point deficit and go ahead for good. Taylor Lee,a 5-8 senior guard, scored a season-high 20 points, including seven in the Lady Tigers’ 14-0 run.

NOTABLE: Ward also had a role in Bentonville’s first game against Van Buren, hitting two late free throws to seal the win. ... Smith scored eight of his game-high 19 points in the fi rst quarter, including a thunderous onehanded dunk during a 9-0 Tigers run. ... Lee completed her performance with seven rebounds, five assists and four steals. ... Garrard had one of her better shooting nights, hitting 5 of 8 shots and her only free throw. ... Junior guard Kindal Coleman also had five assists and four steals to go with her eight points. ... The Lady Tigers forced Van Buren into 21 turnovers while committing only seven.

THE LINGO: “We won the game before, and we found some things we liked in the second half of that game. We know they are going to change, and we’re having to guess what the changes are. We have to go out and do the things we did to win the last game. That was the only difference in this game.” - JASON MCMAHAN Bentonville boys coach

UP NEXT: Bentonville continues 7A/6A-West Conference play with a pair of road trips. The Tigers and Lady Tigers play Tuesday night at Springdale Har-Ber, which split its games Friday at Siloam Springs, then will head Friday to Rogers Heritage, which also split its games against Fayetteville.

Sports, Pages 9 on 01/06/2013

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