SPRINGDALE -- Springdale Har-Ber gave its fans another reason for optimism in its home-opener Friday in Wildcat Arena.
The new-looked Wildcats continued their strong start with a 73-63 victory over Southaven, Miss. Mason Cline and Tereke Eckwood scored 22 points apiece to counter Terence Davis, who scored 29 points for Southaven.
How They Scored
Springdale Har-Ber 73, Southaven, Miss. 63
Southaven^20^13^18^12^—^63
Springdale Har-Ber^17^19^16^21^—^73
Southaven (5-5): Davis 29, Moore 10, KJ Davis 7, Miller 6, Martin 5, Butler 4, Fox 2.
Springdale Har-Ber (7-1): Cline 22, Eckwood 22, Brandon 12, Benson 8, Knight 6, McNee 3.
Har-Ber's scoring didn't end with Cline and Eckwood. Junior J.P. Brandon had 12 points and Avery Benson added eight. Har-Ber fans have another chance to see their team at 7:30 tonight against Forrest City, which lost 76-73 to the Wildcats last week.
Cline, Eckwood, and Brandon took turns carrying the scoring load for Har-Ber (7-1), which led 36-33 at halftime and 52-51 after three quarters. The Wildcats increased their lead to 60-54 before spreading the floor and putting the ball in the hands of Eckwood. Cline added the finishing touch with four consecutive free throws after Southaven was called for an intentional foul with 1 minute, 59 seconds left in the game.
"Our distribution with the ball was very evident," Har-Ber coach Scott Bowlin said. "Tereke played his best game since he's been here at Har-Ber. He's awfully good and Mason carried us in the first quarter. J.P. and (Mason) McNee both played above the rim tonight and that helped. This was a really good win for us."
Har-Ber finished 22 of 28 from the free-throw line while Southaven was 16 of 20. The Chargers will remain in Northwest Arkansas tonight to play Fayetteville.
"We've got some football players we're just getting back," Southaven coach Tom Arnold said. "We played one game with just seven players out there, but Har-Ber is a good team. They made us look silly at times on defense."
The game started as a shootout between Cline and Terence Davis, who is committed to Ole Miss. Cline had 13 points and Davis 12 points at the end of the first quarter, when Southaven led 20-17.
Eckwood scored 12 points in the second quarter and energized the small crowd with a play that began in the backcourt, when he spun away from defenders. Eckwood kept control of the basketball and finished with a layup to tie the score 27-27. He followed with a 3-pointer and started the second half with a steal and a layup to give Har-Ber a 38-33 lead.
"It didn't matter who we chose, we couldn't stay in front of (Eckwood)," Arnold said. "We tried to back up on him a little in the second half and he still was able to hurt us. (Cline) also hurt us with his shooting. They didn't do anything we didn't expect. We just couldn't stop them."
Sports on 12/20/2014