Bentonville girls, Har-Ber boys must settle for runnerup

NEOSHO, Mo. -- When it comes to the Neosho Holiday Classic, Bentonville's girls have no problems getting to the championship game, something they have done every year since 2009.

Winning the tournament title, however, hasn't been as easy for the Lady Tigers, who have three titles in their previous appearances. It stayed that way Thursday night as Bentonville managed only two field goals in the first half and couldn't recover as Van Buren came away with a 34-26 victory.

GIRLS

Van Buren 34, Bentonville 26

Bentonville^3^4^6^13^—^26

Van Buren^5^14^4^11^—^34

Bentonville (11-1): Johnston 9, Clark 8, Brittain 7, Hargus 2.

Van Buren (9-3): Kinney 15, Goodwin 9, Jones 6, Jennen 2, Suiton 2.

BOYS

Atascocita, Texas, 86, Springdale Har-Ber 55

Har-Ber^21^15^10^9^—^55

Atascocita^23^19^29^15^—^86

Har-Ber (7-6): Perry 16, Benson 14, Garrett 12, Kaunitz 6, Brandon 2, Hampton 2, King 2, Benford 1.

Atascocita (22-0): Edwards 29, White 23, Shead 12, Brooks-Loville 10, Willrodt 7, Harris 3, Morehead 2.

When Bentonville (11-1) couldn't get shots to fall, it couldn't get more shots because of turnovers. The Lady Tigers finished with 17 turnovers to go with their 10-of-36 shooting performance, which included a 2-for-16 clip in the first 16 minutes.

"We turned the ball over way too many times," Bentonville coach Tom Halbmaier said. "We couldn't find the rim. In the last two or three games, we hadn't shot the ball well, and Van Buren did a great job defending and being aggressive.

"With the addition of us not being able to hit some buckets early on, we dug ourselves a hole. But hey, we got beat by a good team. Overall, we have to get better shooting and be more consistent on the offensive side."

Madison Brittain's 3-pointer midway through the first quarter was the game's first points, but Bentonville didn't get another bucket until Krista Clark scored from inside with 2 minutes, 49 seconds left before halftime. By that time, Van Buren (9-3) was in the middle of a 14-2 run and took a 19-7 halftime lead.

The Lady Tigers never fully recovered. Bentonville closed the gap to 30-25 on two Brittain free throws with 6:32 remaining but couldn't get any closer.

Maren Johnston led the Lady Tigers with nine points, while Jamilyn Kinney had 15 to lead Van Buren.

Boys

Atascocita, Texas, 86, Springdale Har-Ber 55

Har-Ber hung for one half with a team many consider the nation's best, but the Wildcats slowed down in the second half while Atascocita kept scoring.

The Eagles improved to 22-0, thanks to a 29-10 third-quarter outburst that turned a six-point halftime lead into a comfortable 71-46 cushion heading into the fourth quarter.

"They're number one in the country in some polls for a reason," Har-Ber coach Scotty Bowlin said. "When it gets down to it, it comes down to players. They have five Division I guys out there; the point guard is going to Purdue, and the big guy is going to Oklahoma State, I believe.

"I was proud of our kids. If we play that way, we can play with anybody in the 7A-West Conference. We just got to keep getting better, and our young kids are getting better right now."

Har-Ber (7-6) trailed 23-21 after one quarter and used eight straight points to take a 29-25 lead with 6 minutes, 19 seconds left before halftime. The Wildcats' last lead came when Zane King's putback dunk made it 34-32 midway through the second quarter, only to have Atascocita go on a 10-2 run for a 42-36 halftime lead.

The Eagles then turned to 6-foot-9 post Fabian White, who scored 13 of his 23 points in the third quarter to spearhead their offensive run. Atascocita eventually forced the sportsmanship rule into play when Greg Shead's three-point play made it 83-52 with 3:54 remaining.

Tylor Perry had 16 points while Avery Benson added 14 and Tyler Garrett 12 for Har-Ber, which begins 7A-West play next week with a home game against Rogers High. Carsen Edwards had 20 of his game-high 29 points in the first half for Atascocita, followed by White with his 23, Snead with 12 and Brand Brooks-Loville with 10.

Sports on 01/01/2016

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