Basketball Bentonville holds off Rogers Heritage

ROGERS -- Bentonville shot a sizzling 61 percent from the floor, but had problems from the free-throw line Tuesday night in War Eagle Arena.

But it didn't keep the Tigers from pulling away late for a key 50-43 7A-West road win.

Bentonville (16-8, 8-5) endured a one-of-six stretch from the foul line in the fourth quarter, but finished strong as three different Tigers combined to hit six-of-eight to put the game away.

Asa Hutchinson IV poured in a game-high 23 points on eight-of-11 shooting and the 6-foot-7 senior made big shots each time Heritage (17-9, 6-7 7A-West made a charge.

The Tiger, who lost to Heritage 50-36 a month ago at home, never trailed this time. Bentonville coach Dick Rippee said his team's shot selection was better Tuesday.

"I think we prepared them better for their zone, got guys in the right spots and shooting the right shots," Rippee said. "Really proud of the effort they put into the game plan. They executed it real well. It would have been a lot easier if we'd hit a free throw or two down the stretch.

"We still got enough stops to get a win against a very good team. I think Asa's really improved inside and guys did a good job finding him. We had a couple other guys get loose inside, made some nice passes. But the big thing is they're looking in the right spots."

Bentonville finished just 13 of 23 (57 percent) from the free-throw line and 17 of 28 from the floor.

Hutchinson, who also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, opened the fourth quarter with a three-point play to give Bentonville a 38-32 lead. Heritage got no closer than 41-38 on Seth Stanley's 3-pointer with 2 minutes, 25 seconds left.

Michael Shanks added 10 points to go with a game-high eight assists, while Connor Deffebaugh added nine for the Tigers, who finish the regular season against rival Bentonville West on Friday.

Stanley led Heritage with 22, while Bryce Breedlove added 10.

Heritage coach Tom Olsen credited the Tigers, who finished making 17 of 28 shots from the floor in the game.

"Credit their game plan, they got the ball in the right places," Olsen said. "They had some comfortable looks and they made them. Then they got some shots around the basket they didn't get the first time we played them."

The War Eagles secured a state tournament berth, despite the loss when Springdale Har-Ber defeated Van Buren.

Heritage travel to Har-Ber for its regular season finale on Friday.

Springdale Har-Ber 64, Van Buren 49

Make it six victories in the past seven games for the Springdale Har-Ber Wildcats.

Har-Ber was able to jump out to a 17-6 lead after the first quarter of the game and didn't look back after that in a road victory at Clair Bates Arena.

Zach Peck finished with a team-high 15 points to lead the way for Har-Ber. Tylor Perry added 13, while Tyler Garrett chipped in 12 for the Wildcats (21-6, 10-3 7A-West).

Van Buren senior Jordan West scored a game-high 19 points on senior night. Brayden Gilmore also had 14 points for the Pointers (14-12, 5-8).

Har-Ber was able to extend its lead to 36-22 heading into halftime. A quick 6-0 lead early in the fourth quarter was able to push the Wildcats' advantage out to 53-38.

Bentonville West 73, Rogers High 62 (OT)

Dillon Bailey scored five of his 10 points in overtime, including the go-ahead bucket with 1:54 remaining, as West won its final home game of the season.

Rogers (7-19, 0-13) took a 62-60 lead on Jaden Uecker's two free throws with 3:28 left, but the Mounties never scored again. Boston Barron, whose free throw with 2.3 seconds in regulation forced overtime, tied it again at the 2:18 mark before Bailey put West (17-9, 7-6) ahead to stay with a steal and layup, then added three more free throws to make it 67-62 with 26.7 seconds left.

Gabe Hornsby had 20 points to lead four West players in double figures, followed by Barron with 13 and Collin Blackburn with 11. Drew Miller had 21 of his 26 points in the first half to lead Rogers, while Baylor Lacewell added 12.

Springdale 70, Fayetteville 66

Senior Carl Fitch scored 27 points in his final home appearance to lead Springdale past rival Fayetteville.

Springdale rallied after trailing Fayetteville 38-30 at halftime. Fitch had a 3-pointer from the corner to tie the game in the fourth quarter, then made three of four free throws in the final seconds to secure the victory.

JaJuan Boyd added 15 points and Trentez Scales 14 for Springdale (15-11, 6-7), which completed a sweep over Fayetteville.

Colin Cooper scored 25 points for Fayetteville (17-8, 10-3), which had taken over first place in the 7A-West with a victory last week at Springdale Har-Ber.

Cooper and Frank Morgan each had 3-pointers to give Fayetteville a 38-26 lead midway through the second quarter. Keyon Johnson hit three 3-pointers for Springdale before Cooper answered with another 3-pointer to give Fayetteville a 41-32 lead early in the third quarter.

Preps Basketball on 02/21/2018

Upcoming Events