PREP BASKETBALL: Bentonville West returns from win at Fort Smith Northside to defeat Fayetteville at home

prep basketball graphic
prep basketball graphic

CENTERTON -- Bentonville West added a second win in as many days to its impressive resume.

Tucker Anderson scored 17 points to lead the Wolverines to a 60-47 victory over Fayetteville Saturday in a 6A-West Conference makeup game at Wolverine Arena. The Central Arkansas signee brought the home crowd to its keep when he beat the buzzer with a 65-foot shot from near the Wolverines mascot to give West a 42-27 lead after three quarters.

Zahir James added 14 points and Dawson Price 10 for West (20-2, 9-1) while Quenci Bradford had 13 points to lead Fayetteville (14-8, 4-5).

The teams were supposed to play a makeup game six days ago but that was postponed because of wintry weather. Fayetteville did not play on Friday but the Bulldogs gained some momentum by beating Bentonville 52-49 in its last game over a week ago.

West took the court Saturday about eight hours after returning from Fort Smith, where the Wolverines defeated Northside 41-39 after Anderson made two free throws with 2.1 seconds left. Despite the quick turnaround, the league-leading Wolverines did not show any signs of fatigue while racing to leads of 23-13 and 30-18 in the first half.

"I told our kids 'prepare for the state tournament right here,'" Bentonville West Coach Greg White said after his team won two games in two days. "You beat a good team on Friday, no rest, and turn around and do it again, we're building for something. Any time you beat Fayetteville and Northside, who've been the cream of the crop in the league for so long, maybe there's a new team coming in."

Price provided a spark for West by scoring seven points in the second quarter. Anderson and Price each converted three-point plays before Price scored again inside to put ahead 25-15. Fayetteville received a three-pointer from Brylan Sims but James countered with a three-pointer to stake West to a 30-18 lead after two quarters.

"Dawson is a competitor who's going to play baseball at some Division II school, but they should call him about basketball, too," White said. "He'll win a team a lot of games for a team."

Fayetteville twice got to within 10 points in the fourth quarter but the Bulldogs could get no closer.

GIRLS

FAYETTEVILLE 58, BENTONVILLE WEST 48

Fayetteville outscored Bentonville West 26-12 in the fourth quarter to rally past the Lady Wolverines.

Whitney Brown scored 21 points to lead Fayetteville (11-11, 4-5), which trailed 23-11 early in the second quarter. Fayetteville took its first lead late in the third quarter on a three-pointer from freshman Charley Rawlins.

Fayetteville then dominated the fourth quarter, starting with a three-pointer from Jayla Johnson and an inside basket from Maiesha Washington. Savannah Rangel scored 13 of her 17 points in the first half to lead Bentonville West (8-15, 1-9).

Rangel hit a 3-pointer to begin the second quarter then stepped between two defenders for a floater that gave West a 23-11 lead. Fayetteville then outscored West 9-1 the rest of the quarter to pull within 25-20 at halftime.

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