CENTERTON -- Caden Miller had his best offensive game of the season Friday night, but it was his defensive play Bentonville's boys needed at the end.
The Tigers' 6-foot-8 sophomore blocked one shot, then was able to get a finger on Riley Buccino's last-second attempt as Bentonville held on for a 39-38 victory over rival Bentonville West in 6A-West Conference action in Wolverine Arena.
"Our whole play was not to foul," Miller said. "We obviously didn't want them to get free throws because they are pretty good at them. I just made sure I went up straight.
"I know I got the one block and it felt pretty good. The other shot was more Hayden Shanks than me, but I was able to get a finger on it and tipped it a little bit."
Miller finished with 19 points and 17 rebounds, including a putback dunk to give Bentonville (10-4, 1-1) a 39-35 with 3 minutes, 16 seconds remaining, but the Tigers never scored again. Meanwhile, West (9-3, 0-2) had a chance to tie after Tucker Anderson hit a bucket at the 2:55 mark, but Buccino hit only one of two free throws with 13.3 seconds left.
A jump ball gave the Wolverines their first opportunity to take the lead, but Miller was there in the lane to knock Cade Packnett's shot away. Another jump ball gave the ball to Bentonville, but West would get another chance when Miller, who was trying to break down the floor, ran over Tucker Bowman and was called for the foul with 3.7 seconds left.
Buccino would get the ball and try to shoot over Miller before the buzzer sounded, but the ball hit the back iron and bounced away.
"Some of those chances they earned and some of them, I don't know they earned," Bentonville coach Dick Rippee said. "They kept getting cracks at it, but our guys kept getting stops. When you get into games like this, it usually comes down to getting one stop. The last possession, it seemed like we had to get three or four of them, but we were able to do it.
"Caden changes things around the rim, no question, for us. He's really been good defensively, even last year as a freshman, and he's an unbelievable rebounder. Coming into this game, he's averaging 10.5 a game. He's done a great job being a rim protector and allows his teammates to put pressure on players."
Miller was the only Bentonville player in double figures. Packnett finished with 11 to lead West, followed by Buccino with 10.