Basketball: Bentonville's second run too much for Heritage

Rogers Heritage's Amber Turner and Bentonville's Krista Clark scramble for a loose ball Tuesday in Bentonville.
Rogers Heritage's Amber Turner and Bentonville's Krista Clark scramble for a loose ball Tuesday in Bentonville.

BENTONVILLE -- An 11-point lead almost disappeared before Bentonville's girls regained a sense of urgency Tuesday night.

photo

NWA Democrat-Gazette

Bentonville’s Malik Monk goes up for a dunk Tuesday during the Tigers’ 60-39 win over Rogers Heritage.

Madison Brittain nailed consecutive 3-pointers to spark a 10-0 third-quarter run and helped the Lady Tigers pull away for a 45-35 victory over Rogers Heritage during 7A-West Conference play in Tiger Arena.

Girls

Bentonville 45, Rogers Heritage 35

Heritage^8^5^12^10^—^35

Bentonville^15^2^19^9^—^45

Heritage (6-13, 1-5): Seiler 11, Turner 10, Tiles 5, Menke 4, Kinnamon 3, Lakis 2.

Bentonville (15-3, 4-2): Brittain 16, Johnston 11, Clark 7, Hargus 5, Hughes 3, Byford 2, Hernandez 1.

Boys

Bentonville 60, Rogers Heritage 39

Heritage^9^12^10^8^—^39

Bentonville^10^13^16^21^—^60

Heritage (10-10, 1-5): S. Stanley 11, D. Olsen 9, M. Stanley 8, Breedlove 4, Casey 3, Hobbs 3, T. Olsen 1.

Bentonville (13-6, 5-1): Monk 36, Robinson 8, Costantini 6, Hemphill 5, Hutchinson 3, Akbar 2.

"It was one of those games where we had a tough time finishing," Bentonville coach Tom Halbmaier said. "We were horrendous from the free-throw line -- 33 percent. It's one of those deals where we have to keep working and keep plugging along and fix some things."

Bentonville (15-3, 4-2) jumped out to an 11-0 lead in the first four minutes, but Halbmaier said the early cushion became his team's worst enemy. The Lady Tigers' offense sputtered and scored only six points for the remainder of the first half, allowing Heritage (6-13, 1-5) the chance to get back into the game.

The Lady War Eagles trimmed the gap to a 17-13 margin at halftime, then Amber Turner led off the second half with a bucket and a free throw to make it a one-point game. Heritage even had a chance to take the lead moments later, but its shooting suddenly went cold, giving Bentonville the chance to pull away.

That's when Brittain and Maren Johnston combined for the next 10 points and gave the Lady Tigers the breathing room they needed. Brittain hit another beyond the arc to give Bentonville a 36-25 lead at the end of the third quarter, and Johnston opened the fourth quarter with a bucket to give the Lady Tigers their biggest lead.

We wanted to keep them out of transition and do a good job on the glass," Heritage coach Kevin Ramey said. "For the most part, we did a pretty good job.

"We got ourselves into a position to make it a game, but they hit three big 3s in the third quarter, then hit another one in the fourth. They were good looks for them, and we wanted to contest them better."

Brittain finished with 16 points and Johnston 11 for Bentonville, which travels to Fayetteville to cap the first half of 7A-West play Friday night. Emily Seiler led Heritage with 11 while Turner chipped in 10.

Boys

Bentonville 60, Rogers Heritage 39

Bentonville outscored Heritage 29-10 over the last 11 minutes and turned a two-point lead into a rout.

Seth Stanley's three-point play pulled Heritage (10-10, 1-5) within 31-29 with 3 minutes, 20 seconds left in the third quarter, but the War Eagles didn't hit another shot until Lexus Hobbs' bucket with 2:06 remaining. Bentonville (13-6, 5-1) outscored Heritage 8-2 for the rest of the third quarter for a 39-31 cushion, then scored the next 12 points to blow the game open.

Malik Monk was the only Bentonville player in double figures, and his 36-point performance helped him surpass the 2,600-point mark for his career. Stanley had 11 and was the only Heritage player in double digits.

Sports on 01/27/2016

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