BENTONVILLE -- The television cameras throughout Tiger Arena gave Bentonville senior Malik Monk and El Dorado junior Daniel Gafford the opportunity to showcase their basketball skills before a national audience.
The two standouts didn't disappoint as both players recorded double-doubles, but a couple of other Bentonville players were able to put their talents on display, too.
Bentonville 80, El Dorado 59
El Dorado^11^15^15^18^—^59
Bentonville^19^12^26^23^—^80
El Dorado (15-3): Gafford 18, Perry 17, Ford 10, Stewart 9, Jarrett 3, White 2.
Bentonville (11-6): Monk 29, Hutchinson 17, Hemphill 13, Robinson 8, Akbar 6, Estrada 6, Jackson 1.
Sophomore Asa Hutchinson and junior Jordan Hemphill provided Monk with adequate help and allowed the Tigers (11-6) to pull away in the second half to claim an 80-51 victory. Hutchinson, back in the lineup after he missed the last two games with an injured shoulder, scored 17 points, while Hemphill chipped in 13.
"I thought Jordan was really big, driving to the basket in the second quarter, getting to the rim and hitting floaters," Bentonville coach Jason McMahan said. "He even created some offensive rebound opportunities for other players.
"And Asa is so big to us, and he did it tonight. When people overplay Malik, Asa provided that counterpunch. He stepped up big as a sophomore before a national audience. He's going to be a big-time player here."
Bentonville had an eight-point lead with seconds left in the first half, only to have Czar Perry hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer and make it a 31-26 game at intermission. Hutchinson, who hit 5-of-8 from 3-point range, then hit the first of three from beyond the arc early in the third quarter and gave the Tigers a 38-28 lead.
El Dorado (15-3) was able to get it within 40-32 when Dee Stewart hit a 3-pointer with 5 minutes, 31 seconds left in the third quarter, but it was the last time the Wildcats would be within single digits again. Hutchinson buried another 3-pointer just 15 seconds later, then Monk started to show his scoring skills as Bentonville began to pick up the pace and pull away.
"What do you do with Monk when he gets that hot there at the end," El Dorado coach Gary Simmons said. "He was the difference, and you can't get too far away from Hutchinson, who buried some big shots.
"We're making a run, then Hutchinson kicks out and hits that 3 to make the lead 10 again. You can't say enough about Monk, but you can't say enough about our kids too. This will show up nationally that we have some players down south that can go."
Monk scored 23 of his game-high 29 points in the second half, and he scored Bentonville's first 14 points in the fourth quarter. He also had 15 rebounds to complete his double-double, and his third and final 3-pointer of the game gave Bentonville a 71-49 lead with 4:19 remaining.
Gafford, a 6-foot-10 post who has already verbally committed to Arkansas, had 18 points and 18 rebounds to lead El Dorado, which has suffered two of its three losses in Tiger Arena. Perry added 17 points and Josh Reed 11 points for the Wildcats, who had to make the trip on school buses after their charter bus failed to arrive.
The game also served as the Crabtree Invitational championship, which took place last month. The two teams were supposed to have played on Dec. 5 before they agreed to move the game for television purposes, and the tournament's namesake -- Bill Crabtree -- passed away last week.
"I didn't mention that to the players because of so much else going on," McMahan said. "I'll be sure and mention that to them. I'm sure Mr. Bill would have been happy."
ROUNDUPS
ELKINS 63, HAAS HALL 46 Layne Evans led the Elks with 20 points in a 3A-1 West victory over Haas Hall in Elkins.
HOT SPRINGS 88, DE QUEEN 40 Kajuan Christon scored 22 points while missing just one shot, leading Class 5A No. 1 Hot Springs to a 5A-South victory over lastplace De Queen. Christon finished 7 of 8 from the field, 5 of 5 on three-pointers and 3 of 3 on free throws. Hot Springs (17-3, 5-0) didn’t take the Leopards (5-13, 0-5) for granted, forcing 16 first-quarter turnovers for a 29-7 lead by the end of the quarter. Taqueze Gordon added 18 points off the bench. Exavian Christon scored 17 points for Hot Springs, and Trey Lenox added 14 points. Cory Ousse led the Leopards with 20 points.
MALVERN 77, FOUNTAIN LAKE 57 Andre Jones scored 25 points in leading the Leopards (18-2, 7-1) over the Cobras (7-14, 1-7) in a 4A-7 game in Malvern. Djmore Moore added 21 points for Malvern.
RUSSELLVILLE 69, GREENWOOD 33 K.J. Patrick and Colter Goodman each scored 12 points as the Cyclones (10-7, 2-3) rolled to a 7A/6A-Central victory over the Bulldogs (3-13, 0-5) in Russellville. Russellville led 39-15 at the half. Dustin Lunsford led Greenwood with 15 points.
BENTONVILLE 80, EL DORADO 51
Sports on 01/23/2016