SPRINGDALE -- Saddled with his third foul late in the third quarter, Carl Fitch had to be wise in picking his moments contesting shots near the rim.
His fourth and final block of the night was just the catalyst Springdale High needed Tuesday to keep Fort Smith Southside at bay in a 65-55 win in Bulldog Arena. Sophomore guard Trentez Scales finished with a team-high 17 points and was on the receiving end of an assist following the rejection, kicking off an 11-0 fourth-quarter run after the Mavericks closed to within one.
"That was pretty big for us," said Scales, who reached double figures for a third straight game. "That makes the whole team get excited when we're all ready to play and have energy. It was a little spark."
Scales added seven points in the final quarter and followed the transition bucket with a stare-down corner 3-pointer to push Springdale's lead to 52-43. The lead grew to as many as 12 when the relatively quiet Joe Jibke knocked down his third triple of the game.
Jibke closed the third quarter with a last-second 3-pointer and added two more in the fourth -- as did Jajuan Boyd. That was the second-half theme for Springdale, which shot 52 percent and 7 of 11 from distance after halftime.
Price was excited to see Jibke, who had a strong summer and fall, find success after struggling with his jumper early in the season.
"Joe just needs to see the ball go in," Price said. "He's a tough kid and he's been sticking with it. He's been working at his shot and it's been paying off. I'm really proud of him.
"And it was good to see that we were able to get some stops, hit some shots, get stops and hit some shots," he added. "That's, ideally, how we want to play. Whether its hitting shots sparking your defense or your defense sparking your offense you've got to get that spark."
Springdale (5-4) saw four scorers reach double figures for a second consecutive game as well. Alongside Scales, Fitch finished with 14, guard Marquis Donahoo had 11 while Boyd pitched in 10, six coming on a pair of fourth-quarter 3-pointers. The Bulldogs' improved guard play has given Price a dynamic his club perhaps didn't have in 2016-17, and in turn created avenues for others to contribute with regularity.
"Jajuan's body has changed a lot, and he's a guy that can get into the paint. Trentez is great at penetrating and a really good passer," Price said. "When his 3-ball is falling it's a tough matchup for anybody, and Marquis does a good job getting in the paint.
"We're able to now get inside the 3-point line and do something with it where last year that was a bit of a struggle for our smaller guards."
Jibke followed with nine and Tavari Eckwood, fresh off a 16-rebound game in the Bulldogs' loss to Fayetteville on Saturday, provided a pair of assists to go with four points in quality minutes.
"We all play some pretty big roles," Scales said, "but when you've got other players that normally just play their role hit big shots it helps the team a lot."
Southside guard Taye Gatewood, just weeks removed from football season, scored a game-high 22 points on 4 of 4 from deep. The junior knocked down all six of his second-half shots, including a pair of and-1s in the fourth quarter as Springdale kept the Mavericks (6-3) at arms length. Forward David Sykes reached double figures as well with 12.
Sports on 12/13/2017