Benton leaves Fair in a foul mood

BENTON — Josh Bowling’s 27 points and a 26-6 difference in fouls helped Benton to a 53-40 victory over Little Rock Fair at Panther Arena on Tuesday night in a 7A/6ASouth matchup.

Bowling accounted for 12 of Benton’s 20 points in a first quarter as Fair stayed close, trailing by only seven at the end of the quarter thanks to Jerrick Cole and Alex Barnard, who hit a three-pointer.

Despite a three-point play by Bowling to open the second period, Cole — who had 10 points in the first half points and led Fair with 14 in the game — started a 10-0 run that tied the game at 23-23. But Benton took advantage of six fouls by Fair to take a 29-23 lead into halftime.

Cole and Barnard scored baskets in the third quarter to get Fair within 33-29, but the fouls mounted and put Benton in the bonus.

Fair shot and made only one free throw the entire game. At one point late in the third quarter, there was a 10-1 difference in the fouls in favor of Benton.

“There’s no way in high school basketball that there’s that much difference in fouls,” Fair Coach Charlie Johnson said. “They are 6-5 to 6-10, and they’ve got to go over someone’s back.”