SPRINGDALE -- Winning a conference game on the road is special, especially with the way Bentonville did it Friday night.
Bentonville rallied from a 20-point second half deficit to defeat Springdale Har-Ber 56-51 in 6A-West Conference play at Wildcat Arena. Jaylen Lee scored 23 points for Bentonville while Mofe Sam Adelusimo contributed 11 points that included consecutive three-pointers and two clutch free throws in the final seconds.
Bentonville managed only two field goals while falling behind 29-11 after two quarters. The Tigers still appeared headed for a loss while trailing by 20 points, 37-17, in the third quarter. But Bentonville (13-3, 3-1) absolutely dominated the fourth quarter while outscoring Har-Ber 31-12 to secure what Bentonville Coach Dick Rippee described as one of the best comebacks he's been involved in.
Shortly after the final buzzer, Bentonville's players rushed to celebrate with their student section, which had been mostly quiet during the Tigers' struggles in the first half.
"Coach Deffebaugh's group just kicked our tails in the first half," Rippee said. "It was just a good old-fashioned butt whipping. Our guys were like, 'Oh, they're going to play this hard.' We kind of woke them up a bit at halftime and they responded well."
Jaxon Conley finished with 18 points and Nate Kingsbury 16 to lead Har-Ber (10-4, 1-1).
Bentonville's fourth-quarter flurry was in contrast to the first half when Har-Ber used a combination of muscle and quickness to grab a commanding lead. Jake Fotenopulos and Kingsbury provided the muscle while Conley and Kaleb Forguson added the speed and quickness from the backcourt. Things went so well for the Wildcats that Kingsbury, a 6-5 senior, banked in a hurried 15-footer before the shot clock went off when Har-Ber stretched its lead to 37-17 with 4:35 left in the third quarter.
But Bentonville finally began to string some offense together when Adelusimo connected on consecutive three-pointers from the corner. Lee, an all-state player, then took over with his ability to drive aggressively to the basket and finish shots.
"Jaylin was fantastic and [Adelusimo] did a great job, which is what seniors are supposed to do," Rippee said. "[Adelusimo] stayed within himself, made some plays, and his teammates did a good job of finding him when he was open."