ROGERS -- Senior Night sparked Rogers to put forth an all-out, top of the line effort Tuesday against visiting Fayetteville.
But the Bulldogs fought off the home crowd festivities and the Mounties' best efforts, surviving to rally for a 51-46 win in 7A-West Conference boys' basketball action at King Arena.
7A-West Conference
How They Scored
Boys
Fayetteville 51, Rogers High 46
Fayetteville^15^8^13^15^—^51
Rogers^16^10^6^14^—^46
Fayetteville (21-5, 9-4): Breathitt 18, Willis 15, Brown 6, O’Grady 5, Wymer 5, Carlson 2.
Rogers (7-19, 2-11): Freeland 19, Salvador 16, Benninghoff 7, Boaz 2, Heffley 2.
7A-West Conference
How They Scored
Girls
Fayetteville 67, Rogers High 43
Fayetteville^16^23^16^12^—^67
Rogers^7^13^9^14^—^43
Fayetteville (20-6, 12-1): Crockett 16, Morgan 13, P. Jones 11, Holmes 8, B. Jones 6, King 3, Breathitt 3, Mayberry 3, Posey 2, Ratcliff 2.
Rogers (8-18, 2-11): Sagely 20, Brown 8, King 4, Repella 3, Williams 2, Richmond 2, Randels 2, Clark 2.
"I was expecting that from them on Senior Night," Fayetteville coach Kyle Adams said. "We didn't play terrible, but Rogers kept hitting shots. And some of them were contested shots.
"Wayne (Herren) has his guys playing hard and I was just proud of our guys for sticking in there and finding a way to win."
The Mounties (7-19, 2-11) held a lead for the entire first half, breaking out in front behind the hot outside shooting of Daniel Salvador and Milacio Freeland. Fayetteville (21-5, 9-4) finally fought back early in the third quarter, using a 11-0 run to build a 36-29 lead.
"I'm really proud of the way our guys fought," Herren said. "Fayetteville's size inside caused us problems and we had some turnovers that hurt us.
"We were trying to space the floor and just hang on there until the fourth quarter, but I believe our guys are still improving and we'll keep working."
Rogers kept the game close even down the last minute, finished 9 of 22 on 3-point attempts in the game. But Fayetteville used a 7-for-8 effort from the free throw line in the fourth quarter to help secure the win.
"We've been in a lot of close games like this," Adams said. "Hitting those 7 of 8 free throws was big."
Josh Breathitt led Fayetteville with 18 and Freeland paced the Mounties with
Girls
Fayetteville 67, Rogers High 43
The Lady Bulldogs looked to be in state tournament form a week early, getting offensive production up and down the lineup while using trademark pressure defense to help wrap up and easy 7A-West road win on Tuesday at King Arena.
"Mentally we're there," Fayetteville girls coach Vic Rimmer said. "We're ready for our game Friday and a chance to play for a conference championship and our workouts lately have been intense. So right now we're where we need to be."
Sydney Crockett scored 11 of her team-high 16 points in a short three-minute spell in the second quarter for Fayetteville (20-6, 12-1 7A-West). DaShundra Morgan kicked everything off with a spark on both sides of the court in the first quarter. And Pink Jones added another strong performance in the transition game, leading the Lady Bulldogs' fast-paced attack.
"I really like the way Fayetteville plays," Rogers coach Preston Early said. "They've got a lot of pieces and Vic knows how to use them, and they're playing really well right now."
Rogers had one bright spot, as Brooke Sagely scored a career-high 20 points. Morgan finished with 13 for Fayetteville.
Vernon Tarver can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAVernon
Sports on 02/25/2015