Sophomore Bailey gives West win on Senior Night

Defense helps Lady Wolverines end losing skid

CENTERTON -- It was a night to honor Bentonville West's first senior class, but it was a sophomore who lifted the Wolverines to their second Class 7A State Tournament berth in as many years.

Dillon Bailey scored five of his 10 points in overtime and led West to a 73-62 victory over Rogers High during 7A-West Conference basketball action in Wolverine Arena.

BENTONVILLE WEST 73, ROGERS HIGH 62 (OT)

Rogers 12 21 10 17 2 -- 62

West 15 14 14 17 13 -- 73

Rogers (7-19, 0-13): Miller 26, Lacewell 12, Paschal 8, Dake 6, Early 6, Satchel 2, Uecker 2.

West (17-9, 7-6): Hornsby 20, Barron 13, Collier Blackburn 11, Bailey 10, Larsen 9, Wilmot 4, Swoboda 4, Collin Blackburn 2.

The win means Wolverines (17-9, 7-6) can finish to worse than the fourth seed for next week's state tournament at North Little Rock. West could still finish third, but only if it defeats Bentonville by double digits in Friday's season finale in Tiger Arena.

"We just talked to the kids about getting in," West coach Greg White said. "For us to do it two years in a row with this group, it's something. Our phrase is 'win ugly' and that's what we did. We just kept clawing and finding a way."

Rogers (7-19, 0-13) took a 62-60 lead on Jaden Uecker's two free throws with 3:28 left in overtime and had the ball after a turnover, but the Mounties turned the ball over on their next four possessions and eventually never scored again. Boston Barron, whose free throw with 2.3 seconds remaining tied the game at 60 and forced overtime, tied the game again with a bucket at the 2:18 mark before Bailey took over.

His steal near midcourt and layup gave West the lead for good with 1:54 remaining, then he hit three of four free throws to extend the Wolverines' cushion to 67-62 with 26.7 seconds remaining.

"It was a big play for Dillon," White said. "His defense is really improved. He gets that steal, then he hits free throws like he did on the road the other night. He's really becoming a solid player.

"Man, my hat's off to Rogers and how well they shot the ball and played. We were telling our kids all week this was no gimme game, and there are so much distractions. One of my sons is a senior, and there were emotions for me and those guys. We were lucky to come out with a win."

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.

Girls: Bentonville West 41, Rogers High 28

West celebrated its final home of the season in style as the Lady Wolverines snapped a nine-game losing skid by defeating Rogers.

Rogers 7 8 11 2 -- 26

West 11 9 8 13 -- 41

Rogers (12-14, 5-8): Figenskau 11, Storey 7, Loyd 6, McConnell 3, Carr 1.

West (9-16, 2-11): Wilson 15, Henry 8, Reid 5, Kultgen 5, Kash 4, Wood 4.

West (9-16, 2-11) held Rogers without a field goal for the final 9:22 and outscored the Lady Mounties (12-14, 5-8) 15-2 during that time to secure the victory.

"It just felt tremendous," West coach Randy Richardson said. "It felt like a weight just lifted off our shoulders for a little bit. We've been playing pretty good offensively and playing good enough to lose by just a little bit.

"It's been the defense that has been getting us, and I felt like we put together four quarters of pretty solid defense. That's tough to do against coach (Preston) Early's teams. Really, you just don't do that because they're very fundamentally sound."

The Lady Wolverines led 28-26 after three quarters, thanks to Shania Wilson's bucket with 1:06 remaining. West then held Rogers to two free throws through the fourth quarter and pulled away by hitting seven of nine free throws over the final 8 minutes.

Wilson finished with 15 points to lead West, which will close out its season Friday at Bentonville. Ally Figenskau had 12 to lead Rogers, which remained in a tie for fifth place with Springdale Har-Ber.

Preps Basketball on 02/21/2018

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