SPRINGDALE -- Bentonville didn't let a close loss on Tuesday lead to another defeat Friday.
Bentonville shook off its disappointment and downed Springdale Har-Ber 44-36 in 7A-West Conference action at Wildcat Arena. The road win followed a tough loss at home, where a controversial technical foul call helped Fort Smith Northside escape with a 43-40 victory.
Girls
Bentonville 44, Springdale Har-Ber 36
Bentonville^15^10^7^12^—^44
Har-Ber^11^7^8^10^—^36
Bentonville (17-5, 6-4): Brittain 18, Hargus 10, Hughes 3, Hernandez 3, Roberts 3, Murch 3, Johnston 2, Palasak 2.
Har-Ber (14-10, 4-6): Whaley 9, Shannon 7, Mains 6, Higgins 6, Smith 3, Hornor 2, J. Brown 2, Weber 1.
Boys
Bentonville 83, Springdale Har-Ber 52
Bentonville^18^16^33^16^—^83
Har-Ber^13^11^17^11^—^52
Bentonville (16-7, 8-2): Monk 25, Hemphill 14, Estrada 10, Robinson 6, Hutchinson 6, Akbar 6, Wallace 5, Costantini 4, Jackson 3, Hornsby 2, Walker 2.
Har-Ber: Benson 14, Hampton 12, Benford 6, Perry 5, Garrett 5, Eckwood 4, Williams 3, Kaunditz 3.
Bentonville (17-5, 6-4) led throughout against Har-Ber (14-10, 4-6) after Madison Brittain opened the game with consecutive 3-pointers. Brittain finished with 18 points to lead Bentonville, which went ahead 28-18 after another 3-pointer by Brittain to open the third quarter.
"The type of loss we had on Tuesday can have a devastating effect, but I was very pleased with our overall effort against Har-Ber," Bentonville coach Tom Halbmaier said. "Our seniors were fantastic."
Har-Ber got to within 33-32 early in the fourth quarter before Bentonville stretched its lead again to 43-34. Bentonville made 12 of 20 free throws, including 7 of 9 with under two minutes left to play.
Karrington Whaley scored nine points to lead the Lady Wildcats while Lauren Hargus added 10 for the Lady Tigers. Khanni Shannon made two free throws to cut the Bentonville lead to one before Hargus scored on consecutive baskets to give Bentonville a 37-32 lead with two minutes, 15 seconds left to play.
"We couldn't get over the hump," Har-Ber coach Sandy Wright. "It's the old adage about every possession matters. We've been trying to put four solid quarters together and we got three and 7/8ths."
Har-Ber had hoped to make a move in the conference standings this week after consecutive wins at Rogers Heritage and Rogers High. But the Lady Wildcats fell back instead with consecutive losses at home to Bentonville and Springdale.
"We can't give up," Wright said. "We've got to keep battling and come back ready to practice hard on Monday."
Boys: Bentonville 83, Har-Ber 52
Bentonville outscored Har-Ber 33-17 in the third quarter to explode past the Wildcats.
Malik Monk scored 11 points in the quarter, including back-to-back 3-pointers with a hand in his face and a dunk he turned into a three-point play. Monk finished with 25 points to lead Bentonville, which led 34-24 at halftime.
Har-Ber, which trailed 18-15 late in the second quarter, could not slow the Tigers in the third quarter. Monk scored from the baseline, followed by a 3-pointer from the corner by Asa Hutchinson. Jordan Hemphill added two free throws before Monk made consecutive 3-pointers to put the Tigers (16-7, 8-2) ahead 47-28.
Avery Benson scored 14 points to lead Har-Ber while Hemphill added 14 for Bentonville, which emptied its bench in the fourth quarter. Bentonville made 16 of 19 free throws while Har-Ber was 8 of 13.
Sports on 02/13/2016