Springdale High coach Brad Stamps showcased some quick reflexes when he caught an errant Bulldog pass standing in front of the bench Saturday.
The third-quarter miscue was a rare Springdale mistake. The Bulldogs spent most of the game forcing Rogers High turnovers en route to a convincing 72-56 home win over the Mounties.
Springdale (15-4, 7-1 7A/6A-West) turned up the defensive pressure after falling behind 15-10 in the first quarter. The Bulldogs ended the half on a 21-4 run and forced 11 turnovers in the second and third quarters, leading by as much as 26 in the blowout victory.
“(Rogers) hit some buckets early and got up, so they were going to shorten the game,” Stamps said. “They had a good game plan. But we were preaching, ‘Speed them up, speed them up. Make them play faster than they want to play. … Once we picked up the pressure and played a lot of guys, I think we wore them down.”
Rogers (6-13, 0-8) was efficient in its halfcourt offense early, but struggled to find a rhythm once Springdale’s pressure picked up. The Bulldogs got numerous easy transition baskets off Mountie turnovers en route to a 31-19 halftime lead.
“I thought we did a great job in the first quarter, then two or three turnovers resulted in run-out baskets for them,” Rogers coach Wayne Herren said. “Once they get going, it’s hard to stop them and get back in it.
“I’m very proud of how our guys competed. We won the first and fourth quarters. That’s a start against a team like Springdale, which will be in the hunt for the state championship.”
VARSITY BOYS
SPRINGDALE 72
ROGERS 56
Rogers 15 4 14 23 — 56
Springdale 13 18 23 16 — 72
ROGERS (6-13, 0-8): Hill 19, Martinez 15, Black 5, Smith 5, Street 4, Freeland 2, Gentz 2, Salvador 2, Mayer 2.
SPRINGDALE (15-4, 7-1): Owens 22, Evans 17, J. Wymer 9, D. Wymer 9, Eckwood 8, Gause 6, Burton 2, Cook 1.
Springdale junior guard Chris Owens continued his impressive stretch of recent play, scoring a game-high 22 points. He is averaging 19.3 points while leading the Bulldogs in scoring each of the last three games, including dropping a career-high 24 against Bentonville.
“Chris is in a good spot right now,” Stamps said. “And we say his best basketball is still in front of him. He continues to get better week in and week out. When he’s aggressive offensively, we’re a much better team.”
D.J. Evans added 17 for Springdale, including nine points as Springdale pulled away in the third quarter, mostly off transition thanks to Rogers turnovers. He also added six rebounds and six assists, continuing to fill the role of playmaker for the Bulldogs.
Springdale went to a five-guard look at times while pushing the tempo, a move that paid off while incorporating a number of seldom-used lineups, including one with reserve guard Cory Stewart.
“We pulled our bigs off the floor to try to speed them up and that’s when we made our run,” Stamps said. “Cory’s a guy who’s completely bought in to what team means. He hasn’t played a lot of minutes early in the year, but his attitude has never wavered. This week, he probably had the best week of practice he’s had. And I told him, ‘You’ve earned the right to be on the floor.’”
Hunter Hill was a bright spot for Rogers, scoring a team-high 20. He had 10 in the first quarter as the Mounties took the early lead. Rogers will host Siloam Springs on Tuesday, while Springdale will travel to Rogers Heritage.