ROGERS -- Rogers High couldn't handle the pressure Friday night.
Conway scored 17 points off 19 Rogers turnovers and Javonte Ellis scored 16 points to lead the Wampus Cats to a 59-45 victory over the Mounties in King Arena.
How They Scored
Boys
Conway 59, Rogers High 45
Conway^7^22^11^19^ —^ 59
Rogers^6^10^17^12^ —^ 45
Conway (7-2): Ellis 16, Nekonchuk 13, Johnson 7, King 6, Smith 6, Mullins 7, Clifton 2, Canada 1, Moore 1.
Rogers (4-6): Freeland 22, Salvador 12, Black 6, Benninghoff 5.
Conway forced 13 Rogers turnovers in the first half and a 15-0 run propelled the Wampus Cats to 29-16 halftime lead. Rogers was as close as eight points early in the fourth quarter but Conway, which hit 6-of-14 3-point attempts in the game, pulled away behind a 8-0 run. John Nekonchuk was also in double figures for Conway (7-2) with 13 points.
"We played pretty well defensively," said Conway coach Will Anderson. "We caused some disruption, and this was a good win for us."
Rogers junior Milacio Freeland hit four 3-pointers and led the Mounties with 22 points. Daniel Salvador added 12 points for the Mounties. Rogers was 16-of-51 from the field and 5-of-11 from the free throw line.
"Turnovers, missed free throws and a bad percentage from the field," said Rogers coach Wayne Herren. "We have to take care of the basketball. Milacio attacked the rim and he went hard at them all night."
Conway scored the first seven points of the game but a 3-pointer by Salvador and four points by Freeland helped the Mounties a 13-10 lead early in the second quarter.
But Conway stepped outside and used a 15-0 run to take command of the game. Denzel Johnson hit two 3-pointers and Ellis added another as the Wampus Cats took a 19-13 lead. Ellis then ended the run with back-to-back layups for a 25-13 lead.
Rogers, which had eight turnovers in the first quarter, turned the ball over four times during the Conway run as they went over four minutes without scoring as the Wampus Cats took a 13-point lead at halftime.
"Conway shot the ball a little better from 3-point range than I had anticipated," Herren said.
Rogers played its third game without senior Josh Boaz. Boaz, who is averaging nine points a game, suffered a foot injury and is expected to be out from three to seven weeks.
Rogers (4-6) returns to action December 30 when they face Prairie Grove in the first round at the Siloam Springs Holiday Festival. The Mounties defeated Prairie Grove 66-29 earlier this season.
Sports on 12/20/2014