BENTONVILLE -- Tylor Perry refused to give up the ball Friday night, and that was all right with Springdale Har-Ber boys basketball coach Scott Bowlin.
The sophomore guard drove into the lane and floated in a layup with 2.7 seconds remaining in overtime, giving the Wildcats a 65-63 victory over Bentonville High and moving them into sole possession of first place in the 7A-West Conference standings in Tiger Arena.
Boys
Springdale Har-Ber 65, Bentonville High 63 (OT)
Har-Ber^15^12^15^19^4^—^65
Bentonville^15^18^18^10^2^—^63
Har-Ber (18-6, 9-1): Perry 25, T. Garrett 16, Taylor 10, Sanders 6, King 4, Williams 2, A. Garrett 2.
Bentonville (12-10, 8-2): Hemphill 21, Akbar 20, Shanks 13, Costantini 4, Hutchinson 3, Blackmon 2.
Girls
Springdale Har-Ber 59, Bentonville High 47
Har-Ber^15^12^14^18^—^59
Bentonville^12^8^9^18^—^47
Har-Ber (14-10, 4-6): Mains 20, Jue. Brown 9, Smith 8, Weber 8, Collins 6, Whaley 5, Shannon 3.
Bentonville (11-12, 4-6): Hargus 14, Clark 10, Hughes 7, Cochran 5, Roberts 5, Clifton 4, Palasak 2.
"The way I look at it is maybe an old-school way," Har-Ber coach Scott Bowlin said after the game. "You go for the win on the road and go for the tie at home."
Perry never relinqushed the ball once Har-Ber (18-6, 9-1) inbounded the pass after Jordan Hemphill hit two free throws with 2 minutes, 15 seconds left in overtime until he took the shot. Hemphill provided defensive pressure on several occasions, but Perry managed to avoid the 5-second call each time.
He started his game-winning drive with 7 seconds left and split through Hemphill and Asa Hutchinson, and his shot hit high off the glass before going into the net. Bentonville (12-10, 8-2) chose to inbound the ball instead of calling time, and Hemphill's heave from Har-Ber's free-throw line was well off the mark.
"I told him 'Get to the rim. They're tired and they can't guard you,'" Bowlin said of Perry. "He had to make sure that nobody would slide over, and that was the big thing. We had our two shooters on the corners, and he could have given it up.
"He's not afraid to do that, but players make plays."
Har-Ber had to battle back from a 47-30 deficit in the third quarter and trailed Bentonville 51-42 to start the fourth quarter, but took a 57-55 lead on Ryan Taylor's 3-pointer with 5:11 remaining. The Wildcats took another lead when a Perry 3-pointer made it 61-50 with 3:17 remaining, but Hemphill hit one of two free throws and tied the game with 2:38 on the clock.
Har-Ber then elected to hold it for one last shot to end regulation. Perry, however, fired a 3-pointer that hit nothing, eventually going out of bounds with 0.5 seconds left, and Bentonville couldn't get a shot off in time.
"I felt like we were in great shape, and I'll have to watch the film to see what happened," Bentonville coach Jason McMahan said. "Arman (Akbar) made a lot of shots in there, and I think they were putting their head down and getting to the rim.
"We didn't do a very good job of stopping them in those circumstances of getting to the rim, then we were out of position to get some critical rebounds. We did all the things to lose that lead, like miss some free throws, make layups and stuff like that."
Perry had 25 points to lead Har-Ber, which now also owns a sweep and the tiebreaker over the Tigers with four games to play, while Tyler Garret added 16 and Taylor chipped in 10. Hemphill led Bentonville with 21, followed by Akbar with 20 and Michael Shanks with 13.
Girls
Springdale Har-Ber 59, Bentonville High 47
Maci Mains had 20 points, and Har-Ber used its 3-point shooting to knock off Bentonville and earn a split with the Lady Tigers.
The Lady Wildcats (14-10, 3-6) hit five beyond the arc and built an early 24-14 lead. They also scored the first seven points of the second half, stretching a 27-20 halftime lead to a 34-20 cushion, and Bentonville (11-12, 4-6) never was closer than eight points.
Mains was the only Har-Ber player in double figures. Lauren Hargus had 14 for Bentonville, followed by Krista Clark with 10.
Sports on 02/11/2017