VAN BUREN -- Once again, Van Buren's defense stiffened after giving up some early points and shut down Siloam Springs to stay perfect in the 7A/6A-Central Conference with a 50-38 win Tuesday at Bates Arena.
The Pointers (13-4, 4-0), who leads the conference in defense by giving up just 39 points per league game, only allowed eight points in the second and third quarters combined after surrendering 14 first-quarter points to the Panthers (10-7, 2-2).
How They Scored
Boys
Van Buren 50, Siloam Springs 38
Siloam Springs^14^1^7^16^—^38
Van Buren^16^7^9^18^—^50
Siloam Springs (10-7, 2-2): Heinrichs 12, Sorrells 8, Loveless 7, Pierce 3, Norberg 2, Johnson 2, Comiskey 2, Duncan 2.
Van Buren (13-4, 4-0): Kinney 12, Harms 11, Smith 10, Beckner 9, Hawkins 8.
Girls
Van Buren 50, Siloam Springs 41
Siloam Springs^7^11^15^8^—^41
Van Buren^10^14^14^12^– 50
Siloam Springs (11-6, 1-3) – Cameron 17, Owens 9, Jones 6, Stewart 5, Gay 3, Pippen 1.
Van Buren (10-7, 3-1) – Sheppard 18, Snowden 16, Kinney 9, Goodwin 5, Jennen 2.
"Our goal is to get a stop every possession," Pointers coach Randy Loyd said. "Teams can get frustrated trying to score and try to do things they don't normally do. That helps us get some breaks on the other end."
Van Buren's offense seemingly struggled at times, as 6-foot-10 center Mitchell Smith was limited to just 10 points. The Pointers, though, did make seven 3-pointers in the game -- four from Dylan Kinney and three from Jason Harms -- as well as getting a combined 17 points from forward Beau Beckner (9) and Westin Hawkins (8) carry the scoring load.
"Mitchell is sick, but he came in and defended and rebounded well," Loyd said. "For us to do well the rest of the season, we need Jason and Dylan to make shots."
Kinney and Harms each made a pair of 3-pointers in the opening quarter, but the Panthers would answer with a trio of 3s as well to stay within striking distance at 16-14.
Van Buren's defense did not allow a field goal in the second quarter while forcing six turnovers as the Pointers opened up a 23-15 cushion at halftime.
Though Siloam Springs struggled offensively in the second and third quarters, making just three field goals while committing 11 turnovers, the Panthers stayed in the game thanks to their defense. Van Buren could only lead by 32-22 after three quarters.
The Pointers, though, blew the game wide open in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, going on an 18-8 run to lead 50-30 on a Hawkins layup with 2 minutes, 54 seconds left.
Van Buren had three players in double figures -- Kinney led the way with 12 points while Harms chipped in with 11 and Smith with 10. Josh Heinrichs paced Siloam Springs with 12 points.
Girls
Van Buren 50, Siloam Springs 41
The Lady Pointers swished (10-7, 3-1) 10 3-pointers en route to their third straight 7A/6A-Central win.
Though Van Buren led by 10 in the third quarter, the Lady Panthers (11-5, 1-3) climbed back to within 43-40 with under 3 minutes to play. Though it had opportunities to get closer, Siloam Springs could not convert and Van Buren hung on to win.
Kaylee Sheppard had a game-high 1 points to pace the Lady Pointers while Lani Snowden added 16. Baily Cameron had 17 points to lead the Lady Panthers.
Sports on 01/21/2015