ROGERS -- Rogers Heritage turned up the defensive pressure in the second half to claim a key 7A-West Conference win against its crosstown rival Tuesday night.
The War Eagles held Rogers High to just one field goal during a pivotal third quarter en route to a 42-36 win over the Mounties at War Eagle Arena.
Boys
Rogers Heritage 42, Rogers High 36
Rogers^10^12^5^9^—^36
Heritage^10^9^12^11^—^42
Rogers (8-14, 2-7): Freeland 13, Cooper 10, Benninghoff 7, Mincks 2, Heffley 2, Allen 2.
Rogers Heritage (12-10, 4-5): Hobbs 13, Breedlove 9, M. Stanley 8, S. Stanley 8, Casey 4.
Girls
Rogers High 47, Rogers Heritage 27
Rogers^13^12^12^10^—^47
Heritage^9^7^4^7^—^27
Rogers (10-12, 3-6): Randels 17, Sandor 12, Richmond 10,McKinney 3, Williams 3, Wisdom 2.
Rogers Heritage (5-17, 1-8): Seiler 10, Tiles 8, Turner 5, Kinnamon 3, Scudder 1.
Heritage coach Tom Olsen said his team's defense was the difference as the War Eagles trailed by 22-19 at halftime, but controlled the final two quarters.
"The kids really locked down and guarded," Olsen said. "You know it gets hard to play when you play somebody three times. We came out in the second half and got after them and really got solid, outscored them seven in the third and that was the difference.
"The kids have really bought in the last few weeks of just locking in and defending. Tonight, offensively we weren't real good. Defensively, we kind of gutted it out and got a win."
Lexus Hobbs led Heritage (12-10, 4-5 7A-West) with 13, while Milacio Freeland led Rogers (8-14, 2-7) with 13. Cole Cooper chipped in 10 for the Mounties. Marcus Breedlove added nine for Heritage, all in the second half.
Hobbs started the second half with a pair of baskets off offensive rebounds to spark a 7-0 spurt that gave Heritage a lead it would not relinquish. Heritage outscored Rogers 12-5 in the third quarter to lead 31-27.
Rogers coach Wayne Herren agreed Heritage's defense was the difference.
"I thought they got stops," Herren said. "They did a really good job of helping on Milacio on the drive and we've got to have guys to step out and make shots. And he's got to do a better job of trusting his teammates and pitching out to them. Heritage did a really good job disrupting us. A great defensive battle. Hat's off to them."
Girls: Rogers High 47, Rogers Heritage 27
The Lady Mounties held the Lady War Eagles to one field for more than 14 minutes in the second half and pulled away for the easy win.
Rogers (10-12, 3-6 7A-West) finished the first half with an 8-0 spurt, then took command in the second half. Heritage (6-15, 1-8) was held without a field goal in third quarter until Hailey Tiles scored with 33 seconds left to pull the Lady War Eagles to within 37-20. Heritage wouldn't make another field goal until the 1:31 mark of the fourth quarter.
Rogers coach Preston Early praised his team for their composure, after a shaky first couple of minutes that saw Heritage jump out to a 7-0 lead.
"We didn't even need to call a timeout right there," Early said. "We just kind of had faith in them right there and kind of figured out our spacing and stabilized it. I thought we stayed on point defensively. It's one of those things, we've been in it long enough that we've seen our kids and at some point you've just got to trust in them.
"I was just real proud of our kids and their attention to detail. We've been good for two, two and a half quarters, but I thought we played four solid quarters and I'm proud of our guys for what it takes to do that."
Elise Randels led three Lady Mounties in double figures with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Madison Sandor added 12 points and 15 rebounds. Kelsey Richmond chipped in 10 points.
Emily Seiler led Heritage with 10 points. The Lady War Eagles also struggled from the free-throw line, making just 6 of 21.
Sports on 02/10/2016