Fayetteville assumes top spot in 7A-West

SPRINGDALE -- Seven unanswered points in the first quarter shouldn't make a big deal in a game with first place in the 7A-West Conference boys basketball standings.

Fayetteville, however, used that short spurt to take a lead it would never relinquish, and the Bulldogs made a major step toward the league title Friday night with a 78-59 victory over Springdale Har-Ber on the Wildcats' home floor.

FAYETTEVILLE 78, SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 59

Fayetteville^16^21^17^24^—^78

Har-Ber^9^20^22^8^—^59

Fayetteville (17-7, 10-2): Cooper 30, Johnson 12, Morgan 11, Schach 8, Releford 7, Conley 6, Bowers 3, Blakenship 1.

Har-Ber (20-6, 9-3): Perry 17, Peck 13, T. Garrett 8, Bishop 7, Ezell 5, Buchanan 5, A. Garrett 4.

The win not only gives Fayetteville (17-7, 10-2)a one-game lead in the conference standings with two to play, but the Bulldogs enjoy a series sweep over Har-Ber (20-6, 9-3). That means Fayetteville can clinch the league's top seed in the Class 7A State Tournament with one more win next week.

"It was a big game in a lot of respects," Fayetteville coach Kyle Adams said. "I just love to see the improvement of our kids. It's not always about the wins and the losses, but the improvement of our kids from where we were a month ago to now.

"That's especially on defense. All my staff has done an unbelievable job of getting those guys where we need to be on the defensive end. Offensively, I thought RJ Johnson was the difference. He came in and came a huge lift off the bench, which he has done on many, many occasions."

Collin Cooper, who finished with 30 points, hit two free throws to cause the seventh and final lead change with 3 minutes, 4 seconds left in the first quarter. Quinn Schach followed that with a bucket and Johnson's 3-pointer put Fayetteville ahead 14-8 with 1:32 remaining.

It was a lead that eventually grew as much as 37-29 at halftime, thanks to Johnson's 3-pointer that went around the rim and in with 2 seconds left.

"I never realized that because we are always stressing to treat each possession like it is the first or the last one," Adams said. "We just want to make sure we're competing on every possession, and I thought we did that."

Har-Ber, however, used the third quarter to pull within 47-46 on Tylor Perry's 3-pointer with 1:40 left in the third quarter. Fayetteville led 54-51 at the end of the third quarter, then the Bulldogs pulled away with 10 straight points during a stretch where Perry fouled out on a charge and the Wildcats picked up four technical fouls.

Johnson finished with 12 and Frank Morgan 11 for Fayetteville, which returns to action Tuesday at Springdale. Perry had 17 for Har-Ber, while Zack Peck chipped in 13.

Van Buren 65, Springdale High 52

Van Buren closed out the fourth quarter strong to keep its postseason hopes alive.

Springdale used a 13-4 run early in the fourth quarter to cut the advantage to 51-47 with about four minutes to play. Van Buren then outscored Springdale 14-5 after that to pull away down the stretch.

Van Buren (14-11, 5-7 7A-West) had all five of its starters score 10 or more points. Jordan West led the way for the Pointers with a game-high 20 points. Zane West and Brayden Gilmore each added 11. Gavin Ball and K.J. Stewart both chipped in 10.

Jajuan Boyd and Joe Jibke each scored a team-high 12 points for Springdale High (14-11, 5-7). Trentez Scales finished with 10 as well for the Bulldogs.

Bentonville High 60, Rogers High 33

Bentonville (15-8, 7-5) rode strong nights from three of its players to beat the Rogers and clinch a spot in the Class 7A state tournament.

Asa Hutchinson, Colton Simmons and Michael Shanks all finished with double-digit points to pace a Tiger offense that outscored the Mounties in every quarter.

Hutchinson led all scorers with 21 points, scoring most of them in the paint. Elliott Paschal led the Mounties with 13.

Bentonville West 53, Rogers Heritage 46

The Wolverines made free throws late to earn a big 7A-West road win.

Ben Larsen led West with 16 points, while Collier Blackburn added 13. Senior Seth Stanley had a game-high 22 points to lead Heritage.

Preps Basketball on 02/17/2018

Upcoming Events