SPRINGDALE -- It would have been hard to script a better Friday night in Bulldog Gym for Springdale High.
First, the Bulldogs earned a key 56-48 win over Van Buren. Then the players, coaches and fans stuck around, anxiously awaiting the final score of the Bentonville-Fayetteville game.
How They Scored
Prep Boys
Springdale 56
Van Buren 48
Van Buren^13^8^15^12^—^48
Springdale^13^8^20^15^—^56
Van Buren (20-5, 10-4): Smith 27, Pearson 14, Kinney 3, Martin 2, Harms 2.
Springdale (20-5, 12-2): Eckwood 23, Evans 12, Owens 10, Gause 4, J. Wymer 3, Cook 2, D. Wymer 2.
A mob broke out at center court when the crowd learned Fayetteville upset Bentonville, then the Bulldogs cut down the nets on both goals to celebrate winning a share of the 7A/6A-West Conference championship and the West's No. 1 seed for the state tournament next week.
"What a feeling," Springdale coach Brad Stamps said. "What a great experience to be out there with your school, all waiting for you, with you, for something to celebrate. That's something I'll always remember. A lot of good people out there that were wanting this. It's pretty special."
Springdale (20-5, 12-2) earned its second big win this week after routing Bentonville 68-53 on Tuesday, a victory that paved the way for the Bulldogs to claim a share of the title. The Bulldogs will go into next week's state tournament with momentum stemming from a four-game winning streak.
"That's what you want to do," Stamps said. "You want to be playing your best basketball heading in (to state)."
Van Buren sophomore center Mitchell Smith was dominant most of the night, scoring 27 points and grabbing 12 rebounds to keep the Pointers (20-5, 10-4) in a game that was tied at 21 at halftime.
"You're not going to stop good players," Stamps said. "You hope that you can make them work for what they get. From day one in their program, he's consistently gotten better, every area of his game."
But Van Buren didn't have an answer Springdale junior point guard Tereke Eckwood or the Bulldogs' pressure defense in the second half. Eckwood scored 20 of his team-high 23 points after halftime, many coming in transition as the Bulldogs forced Van Buren turnovers in a key 13-2 third-quarter run that gave Springdale a lead it didn't relinquish.
"We made a few mistakes there," Van Buren coach Randy Loyd said. "But we competed our tails off in a hostile environment. ... Give Springdale credit. They're a really good team. They're one of the teams that has a chance to win it all."
Springdale will play the winner of a matchup between the Central No. 4 seed and West No. 5 seed in the tournament quarterfinals Friday at 5:30 p.m.
Sports on 03/01/2014