ROGERS --Rogers Heritage sliced an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to one, but Fayetteville had the final answer Tuesday night in War Eagles Arena.
The Purple Bulldogs hit seven of eight free throws in the final 62 seconds to claim a 54-48 win and remain in a three-way tie for first place in the 7A-West Conference.
Dawson's Peek's three-point play pulled Heritage (15-5, 4-3 7A-West) within 45-44 with 1:26 left in the fourth quarter, but Fayetteville was deadly from the foul line to push the War Eagles out of a logjam at the top of the league.
Fayetteville, Bentonville and Springdale Har-Ber finish the first round of league played tied for the top spot.
Senior Jon Conley answered Peek's play with a driving layup and Heritage turned the ball over on the ensuing possession. Fayetteville (12-7, 5-2) then put the game away from the foul line.
Fayetteville coach Kyle Adams was pleased with his team's overall defense, but especially Quinn Schach, who limited Heritage's Seth Stanley just 11 points on three-of-eight shooting from the floor.
The Purple'Dogs also limited a patient Heritage team to 46 percent shooting (16 of 35), after it shot over 70 percent from the floor and got many easy shots in a 10-point win over Springdale Har-Ber on Friday.
"I thought defensively, especially the first half we were as good as we've been all year long," Adams said. "I've said this to many people. I've never said it publicly, but I think Quinn Schach's the best defender in our league, maybe in the state. Just competes every possession, every pass, every bounce. The guy just buys in and does what he's supposed to do."
Senior Collin Cooper scored a team-high 16 points, including six-of-six from the foul line for Fayetteville. Conley was also in double figures with 12. Fayetteville also made 16 of 20 free throws for the game and enjoyed a 32-20 rebounding advantage."
Peek led all scorers with 18, while Bryce Breedlove added 10 for Heritage.
Fayetteville used a 14-3 third-quarter run to turn a four-point deficit into a 33-26 lead. Frank Morgan's 3-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer pushed the lead to nine and Schach scored his only points of the night for a 39-28 advantage with 7:19 left.
Heritage coach Tom Olsen said Fayetteville had an answer for his team late, particularly from the free-throw line.
"We needed them to miss in that situation," Olsen said. "Everybody that knows basketball understands that. They made their free throws."
Girls
Fayetteville 43, Rogers Heritage 23
The Lady Purple Bulldogs held Heritage to just seven points through three quarters and scoreless in the third to remain undefeated in the 7A-West Conference.
Fayetteville (15-3, 7-0 7A-West) put together a 30-0 run throughout most of the second quarter and all of the third to lead 42-7 after three.
Sasha Goforth led all scorers with 13 points, while junior Kennedy Bobbitt added 11 for Fayetteville. Pam Seiler and Sydney Kinnamon led Heritage (5-14, 0-7) with six points each.
Fayetteville coach Vic Rimmer liked his team's defensive intensity, holding the Lady War Eagles to just seven points and two field goals through three quarters.
"If you look around the league at scores every night, I like our defensive effort every night," Rimmer said. "I thought tonight was good. Heritage has played Springdale close, they had Bentonville close, Har-Ber close. I think the difference between those games and our game is I feel like defensively we're playing really, really well.
"Offensively, I thought we were OK. Sasha made some shots. Bobbitt made three threes in the first half. That said, I love our defensive efffort. I think that's what we're going to have to have to be successful later in the year."
Preps Basketball on 01/31/2018