VIDEO: Basketball: Garrett-to-Garrett lifts Har-Ber

Tylor Perry (5) of Springdale Har-Ber makes a shot as Ty Olsen (11) and Dawson Peek (22) guard Friday in Springdale Har-Ber’s Wildcat Arena.
Tylor Perry (5) of Springdale Har-Ber makes a shot as Ty Olsen (11) and Dawson Peek (22) guard Friday in Springdale Har-Ber’s Wildcat Arena.

SPRINGDALE -- Tyler Garrett dribbled up the court and glanced out of the corner of his eye as a familiar face was speeding down the right side toward the basket.

Heritage 8 12 9 13 -- 42

Har-Ber 18 20 22 16 -- 74

Heritage (17-10, 6-8): Stanley 12, Peek 6, Breedlove 5, Bowman 5, Clines 4, Olsen 3, Furuseth 3, Manuel 2, Fincher 2.

Har-Ber (22-6, 11-3): T. Garrett 14, Perry 13, Buchanan 12, A. Garrett 8, Wright 6, Peck 5, Bockelman 5, Ragsdale 3, Bishop 3, Bradley 3, Pieroni 2.

As the senior guard neared the lane, he saw Austin Garrett point up.

It was a familiar scene, one that has played out probably thousands of times for the Garrett brothers. And just like the games of Nerf basketball in their bedroom, Tyler lofted a perfect pass high above the rim, and Austin finished it with an emphatic one-handed dunk.

That play in the third quarter might get lost in the box score of a 74-42 Har-Ber blowout of Rogers Heritage, but for these brothers, it was a special moment that they both know is rapidly coming to an end.

"We just connect," said Austin, a sophomore who scored eight points Friday night in the regular season finale at Wildcat Arena. "I just saw the ball and went up and got it."

Twice earlier Tylor Perry tried to hit Austin Garrett on similar plays that failed to finish.

"It took me," said Tyler Garrett. "It's a little brotherly love involved in it."

Har-Ber (22-6, 11-3) was dominant from the opening tip and took an eight-point lead in the first quarter as Tyler Garrett scored eight of his game-high 14 points. The rout continued in the second quarter as Perry knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and the Wildcats outscored Heritage (17-10, 6-8) 20-12 to take a 38-20 halftime lead.

The Wildcats will get the No. 2 seed in this week's Class 7A state tournament as Fayetteville locked down the No. 1 seed. Both teams earned first-round byes in the state tournament. Heritage will be the No. 6 seed from the conference.

Har-Ber coach Scott Bowlin said his team is playing its best basketball right now heading into the post-season.

"I thought we played pretty well at Van Buren Tuesday and they're just playing right now," Bowlin said. "They're sharing the ball and they've sort of figured it out that it doesn't matter who scores as long as they play together. I thought we played good defense tonight."

The Wildcats were able to hold Heritage senior Seth Stanley to just 12 points, no small feat against one of the league's best players.

Har-Ber had 11 players score points in the game as the lopsided score led to some playing time for the Wildcats' reserves.

Perry finished with 13 points and Nick Buchanan, who gave the Wildcats a big spark off the bench, scored 12.

"We are clicking and we just have to sort of keep that in a bottle," Bowlin said. "So hopefully next Thursday night we put it right back out there with them."

Springdale Har-Ber 57, Rogers Heritage 48

The Lady Wildcats used a strong third quarter to build a cushion and held off Rogers Heritage to lock down the No. 5 seed in next week's Class 7A state tournament.

Heritage 5 19 10 14 -- 48

Har-Ber 10 19 20 8 -- 57

Heritage (6-20, 1-13): Kinnamon 15, Menke 13, Richardson 7, Dickerson 4, Combs 3, Seiler 3, Brooks 3.

Har-Ber (14-14, 6-8): Mains 19, Smith 16, Collins 8, Fornopolus 4, Shannon 4, Nelson 3, Taylor 2, Kara 1.

Har-Ber (14-14, 6-8 7A-West) will take on Little Rock Central in the first round of the state tournament.

Senior Maci Mains drilled four 3-pointers and scored a game-high 19 points for Har-Ber. Point guard Krislyn Smith scored 16.

"We gave up too many 3s, but I'm proud of our kids," Har-Ber coach Jaime Green said. "To finish like this, to get a fifth seed, we haven't had that in three years. It's not too shabby. I thought our kids really rallied after the first round of conference."

Har-Ber led 29-24 at halftime and opened the third quarter with an 11-2 run to take a 40-26 lead. Heritage (6-20, 1-13) fought back and were within striking distance early in the fourth quarter behind Sydney Kinnamon, who scored a team-high 15 points -- all on 3-pointers. The Lady War Eagles knocked down nine 3-pointers in the game.

Lady Wildcats hit 13 free throws in the second half and clinched the win at the free-throw line.

"Now the season starts over for everyone," Green said. "We're looking forward to a weekend off for the first time in a long time. We're going to come back rested and hopefully get Little Rock Central a hard challenge."

Preps Basketball on 02/24/2018

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