Basketball: Martin leads fast start for Bentonville

Special to NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Beach Jordan Martin (left) of Bentonville scored 26 points against Springdale Har-ber on Friday in the Lady Tigers 69-60 victory at Wildcat Arena in Springdale.
Special to NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Beach Jordan Martin (left) of Bentonville scored 26 points against Springdale Har-ber on Friday in the Lady Tigers 69-60 victory at Wildcat Arena in Springdale.

SPRINGDALE -- A glance at the halftime scoreboard revealed plenty about Friday's game between Bentonville and Springdale Har-Ber.

Har-Ber had 18 points at halftime, and Jordan Martin had 16 for Bentonville.

7A-West

Girls

Bentonville 69, Springdale Har-Ber 60

Bentonville^19^18^14^18^—^69

Har-Ber^7^11^16^26^—^60

Bentonville (15-8, 6-4): Martin 26, Taylor 15, Johnston 14, Brittain 9, Hargis 5

Har-Ber (18-6, 7-3): Redmond 15, Collins 13, Chancellor 10, Schalk 9, Higgins 7, Whaley 6

Boys

Bentonville 60, Springdale Har-Ber 39

Bentonville^17^11^18^14—^60

Har-Ber^9^10^9^11^—^39

Bentonville (15-6, 9-1): Monk 18, Smith 13, Robinson 10, Carter 7, Hemphill 5, Loy 5, Jones 2

Har-Ber (16-6, 7-3): Eckwood 12, Benson 11, Brandon 7, Cline 6, Knight 3

Martin continued scoring in the second half and finished with 26 points to lead Bentonville to a 69-60 victory over Har-Ber at Wildcat Arena. Peyton Taylor added 15 points and Maren Johnston 14 for Bentonville (15-8, 6-4), which earned an impressive road win after losing at Fort Smith Northside on Tuesday.

"To pull out a victory on the road this late in the season was huge for us," Bentonville coach Tom Halbmaier said. "Our kids were motivated and in tune, tugging the same way."

Martin finished with four 3-pointers and was hot from the outset with 11 of Bentonville's 19 points in the first quarter. She made 3-pointers from opposite corners before maneuvering inside for a layup that gave the Lady Tigers a 17-4 lead.

Martin began the second quarter on the bench after picking up her second foul, but Bentonville continued to hold a comfortable lead. Martin returned late in the second quarter and added another 3-pointer to put the Lady Tigers ahead 37-18 at halftime.

"Jordan showed up tonight, and the girls did a good job of finding her," Halbmaier said. "These girls have played a lot of ball together and they kind of feed off one another."

Har-Ber (18-6, 7-3) got to within five points while outscoring Bentonville 26-18 in the fourth quarter. But the early deficit was too much to overcome for the Lady Wildcats, who face Fayetteville on Tuesday.

Paige Redmond scored 15 points and Savannah Collins 13 to lead the Lady Wildcats.

"Bentonville hit everything they put up and we were out of rhythm," Har-Ber coach Sandy Wright said. "They didn't miss, but we finally made some things happen in the second half. We just waited too long to get started."

Martin started the second quarter on the bench, but that didn't slow the Lady Tigers, who continued to pull away. Lauren Hargis used a screen for an easy layup and Madison Brittain followed with a short jumper to prompt a Har-Ber timeout with the Lady Wildcats trailing 24-10.

Har-Ber got to within 65-60 late in the fourth quarter behind the shooting of Redmond and Collins, a sophomore. But Martin made a free throw and Brittain a basket to pull Bentonville out of danger.

Boys

Bentonville 60, Springdale Har-Ber 39

Bentonville built an early lead and coasted to another easy victory over Springdale Har-Ber.

Malik Monk scored 18 points for Bentonville (15-6, 9-1), which led 17-9 after one quarter and 28-19 at halftime. Ben Smith added 13 points and Tyler Robinson 10 for the Tigers.

Tereke Eckwood scored 12 points for Har-Ber (16-6, 7-3), which lost 72-48 at Bentonville last week.

Sports on 02/14/2015

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