ROGERS -- Rogers High tried to slow the tempo Friday night but Van Buren had an answer.
Rogers stayed close for most of the game but Van Buren had one of its best shooting nights of the year in a 46-34 victory over the Mounties in a 7A/6A-West Conference game in King Arena.
7A/6A-West Conference
Boys
Van Buren 46, Rogers High 34
Van Buren^12^13^7^14^ —^ 46
Rogers^7^14^5^8^— ^34
Van Buren (19-4, 9-3): Pearson 16, Smith 11, Harms 8, Eversole 5, Kursh 4, Martin 2.
Rogers (6-17, 0-12): Street 18, Gentz 10, Martinez 4, Hill 2.
Ryan Pearson scored 16 points and the Pointers made 18-of-26 field goals (69 percent) as they pulled away for the victory. Rogers was as close as four late in the third period but went scoreless over the next 3 minutes, 28 seconds.
"Wow, that's awesome," said Van Buren coach Randy Loyd when told of the Pointers shooting percentage. "You can't blame Rogers, they were looking for something to get a win. I did the same thing last year against Fayetteville. Luckily, we shot the ball well, and we made shots when we got shots. We finally extended the lead out where they couldn't keep stalling the ball."
Pearson had three 3-pointers and had 13 points in the first half as the Pointers (19-4, 9-3) took a 25-21 lead. His 3-pointer just before the buzzer gave the Pointers the four-point lead. Mitchell Smith sat most of the third period in foul trouble but finished with 11 points for Van Buren after scoring seven points in the fourth period. Jason Harms scored seven of his eight points after halftime.
"That's our three guys, offensively," Loyd said. "Ryan played well, and he has played well the last three games."
Zack Street led Rogers with 18 points while Brett Gentz added 10 for the Mounties. Street scored 14 points the first half, including hitting 4-of-5 3-point attempts to help keep Rogers within striking distance.
"We did what we wanted to do early, we wanted to try and give ourselves a chance in the fourth quarter," Rogers coach Wayne Herren said. "Van Buren is a quality team. I don't fault my guys effort, they played with a lot of heart, a lot of emotion. Zack made big shots that kept us in the game."
Rogers (6-17, 0-12) travels to Heritage on Tuesday.
Sports on 02/22/2014