CENTERTON -- The frustration mounted on Fayetteville boys basketball coach Kyle Adams' face Tuesday night as his team picked up seven team fouls before the first 3 minutes of its 7A-West Conference game.
In the end, it was the Bulldogs who left Bentonville West frustrated as a strong second-half run propelled Fayettevlle to a 65-49 victory on the Wolverines' home court.
The Bulldogs (8-7, 1-1) opened the second half with a 15-2 run, which turned a 22-19 halftime lead into a comfortable double-digit cushion.
"We were frustrated at the start because that's how we have to play," Adams said. "We're not big enough to get in there and pound with their post people, and we have to go out and put pressure on their guards. The calls were probably right, but it's frustrating when you can't get your speed out there going like we did."
Fayetteville overcame a pair of early six-point deficits and took the lead for good with seven straight points in the second quarter, with Tamaury Releford's bucket making it a 17-12 game with 3 minutes, 23 seconds before halftime. West (11-4, 1-1) then came back and cut it to 22-19 on Garrett Wilmot's free throw with 0.4 seconds before halftime.
The Bulldogs, however, opened the second half with five straight points, then followed by Boston Barron bucket with 10 unanswered points and claimed a 37-21 cushion on Collin Cooper's bucket with 4:51 left in the third quarter. The Wolverines pulled back within 41-32 on Dillon Bailey's 3-pointer to end the third quarter, but Fayetteville responded with 10 straight points to start the fourth quarter and put the game out of reach.
"We shot the ball better, for one thing," Adams said. "We hit a couple of 3s to push the lead out a bit, from then on we were able to handle the pressure a little bit. I think we had 12 to 15 turnovers, which is good for us with as many possessions we had in the game."
Cooper had 18 points to lead Fayetteville, followed by Frank Morgan with 13 and RJ Johnson with 12. Collier Blackburn had 13 for West while Gabe Hornsby added 12.
FAYETTEVILLE 65, BENTONVILLE WEST 49
Fayetteville 10 12 19 24 -- 65
West 10 9 13 17 -- 49
Fayetteville (8-7, 1-1): Cooper 18, Morgan 13, Johnson 12, Schach 8, Bowers 8, Conley 2, Munyambu 2, Releford 2.
West (11-4, 1-1): Collier Blackburn 13, Hornsby 12, Wilmot 6, Barron 6, Larsen 5, Bailey 3, Collin Blackburn 2, Rutherford 2.
Girls: Fayetteville 54, Bentonville West 43
Fayetteville picked up its second consecutive double-digit victory in 7A-West play, but not without withstanding West's second-half comeback attempt.
The Lady Bulldogs (10-3, 2-0) enjoyed a 38-13 lead after a Lauren Webb free throw with 1:42 left in the first half, but the Lady Wolverines (7-7, 0-2) scored 18 of the next 20 points and pulled within 40-33 on Shania Wilson's bucket with 2:42 left in the third quarter.
West then closed the gap to six on two occasions, the last being 48-42 after Kadie Kultgen's basket with 5:27 remaining, but Jasmine Franklin scored the next five points to put Fayetteville's lead back in double digits for good.
"Our offensive performance, I thought, was kind of poor," Fayetteville coach Vic Rimmer said. "We lost some intensity on defense in the third quarter, and Bentonville West made some shots. That was a big deal.
"They made some shots and made a run at us, which is expected on the road in the 7A-West. We didn't respond that well. They outscored us in the third quarter and that was two-fold; we gave up some easy shots and sent them to the free-throw line, and we missed some easy shots."
Sasha Goforth had 20 to lead Fayetteville while Franklin finished with 13. Ashaundi Henry and Shania Wilson each had nine for West.
FAYETTEVILLE 54, BENTONVILLE WEST 43
Fayetteville 15 23 8 8 -- 54
West 6 14 15 8 -- 43
Fayetteville (10-3, 2-0): Goforth 20, Franklin 13, Bobbitt 8, Webb 7, Beck 4, Breathitt 2.
West (7-7, 0-2): Henry 9, Wilson 9, Kash 7, Montgomery 6, Mahone 5, Clifton 4, Kultgen 3.
Preps Basketball on 01/10/2018