ROGERS -- Dillon Bailey had struggled with his free-throw shooting in last week's game against Fayetteville, so he immediately returned to the floor and took 100 shots from the line, hitting 94 of them.
The extra work was beneficial Tuesday night as the Bentonville West senior hit four free throws in the final 67 seconds, and the Wolverines handed Rogers its first loss of the season, defeating the Mounties 39-36 during 6A-West Conference play in King Arena.
"I just knew I had to go and knock those down," Bailey said. "I'm the guy to do it.
"I don't know if anything was running through my mind. I just knew I had to knock them down for my team. I can't think about anything but my team at the moment."
Rogers (13-1, 2-1) took a 36-33 lead on Elliot Paschal's 3-pointer with 3 minutes, 12 seconds remaining, but the Mounties failed to score again. Jonas Higson's bucket inside helped West (7-6, 2-1) pull within one with 2:32 on the clock, then Rogers melted the clock down to 1:22 before a turnover gave the Wolverines their opportunity.
Bailey, who played much of the fourth quarter with four fouls, didn't let it go to waste as he was fouled and hit two free throws with 13 seconds left. Rogers then held the ball again for one last shot, but Karsen Uecker's attempt from the corner was blocked by Riley Buccino.
Bailey then grabbed the ball and was fouled with 2.4 seconds left. He then hit both free throws, and Derek Hobbs' heave from beyond midcourt was off to the left and hit the backboard as time expired.
"I heard (Rogers) coach (Lamont) Frazier say on the news he wanted to make it as ugly as possible," West coach Greg White said. "I told our guys we were the blueprint for winning ugly, and I took it as a compliment. They're building their program like we are building ours, and he does a great job.
"In an ugly match and a street fight like that, I'll always take my guys off Gamble Road. We've built ourselves on that, and that's how we play."
West, which managed only 11 points in the first half, exceeded that amount in the first 5 minutes of the third quarter and scored nine straight points -- a pair of 3-pointers by Bailey and one by Kade Ruffner -- to take a 26-20 lead. Rogers, however, scored the last eight points of the third quarter and took a 30-28 lead on Hobbs' 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The lead switch hands twice as Ruffner and Uecker each hit a 3-pointer for his respective team. Ruffner scored again to tie the game at 31 with 3:48 before Paschal scored what proved to be Rogers' last points.
Bailey finished with 22 points and was the only player in double figures for West, which returns to action Friday at home against Rogers Heritage. Will Liddell had 15 for Rogers, which was missing leading scorer Drew Miller after he suffered an injury last week against Fayetteville.
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Bentonville West 2 9 17 11 -- 39
Rogers High 3 11 16 6 -- 36
West (7-6, 2-2): Bailey 22, Buccino 8, Ruffner 5, White 2, Higson 2.
Rogers (13-1, 2-1): Liddell 15, Uecker 7, Paschall 5, Hobbs 5, Garner 4.
Springdale Har-Ber 54, Springdale High 46
Lawson Jenkins scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half to lead Har-Ber (12-2, 3-0) past Springdale.
Nick Buchanan added 13, including a clutch three-point play after Springdale got to within 39-36 with 3:17 left in the game.
JP Hignite scored 16 points and Brandon Haney 13 for Springdale (7-8, 0-3) before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
Jenkins was particularly effective in the third quarter when he keyed an 8-0 surge. Jenkins scored with a power move along the baseline then followed with a 3-pointer after Buchanan drew a charge.
JuJuan Boyd ended the surge with a three-point basket to give Har-Ber a 29-17 lead. Boyd had 13 for Har-Ber.
Bentonville High 42, Rogers Heritage 35
Brayden Freeman returned to Bentonville's lineup and scored nine of his 12 points in the second half as the Tigers defeated Heritage in Tiger Arena.
Bentonville (10-4, 1-1) had a 24-15 halftime lead, but Heritage (8-7, 1-2) pulled within 31-26 after three quarters before the Tigers secured the victory.
Colton Simmons also had 12 points for Bentonville. Logan Clines led the War Eagles with 11 points.
Fayetteville 66, Van Buren 48
The Purple Bulldogs pulled away in the second half to claim the 6A-West conference win.
Fayetteville (10-6, 2-1 6A-West) led only 33-27 at halftime but extended its lead to 51-37 entering the fourth quarter. Tamaury Releford led the Purple'Dogs with 22 points while C.J. Williams added 21.
6A-Central
Fort Smith Northside 63, Little Rock Central 44
The Grizzlies started slow but made up for it the rest of the way in a 6A-Central Conference win Tuesday night.
Central led 13-11 after one quarter, but Northside (12-4, 2-0) took a 29-22 lead at halftime and dominated the second half.
Northside overcame 17 turnovers by dominating on the boards, outrebounding Central 34-18.
Arkansas verbal commit Jaylin Williams led the way for Northside with a double-double,, scoring a game-high 27 points to go with 15 rebounds. Braylin McKinley added 11 points and 8 rebounds.
Corey Camper scored 14 for the Tigers (7-8, 0-2) and Jeremiah Jones added 13.
Preps Sports on 01/15/2020