ROGERS -- Jonesboro couldn't have been more impressive in its first appearance in the boys Class 6A state tournament.
Jonesboro took control from the outset and roared past Bentonville 61-28 in the quarterfinals Thursday at Mountie Arena. Eleven players scored at least two points points for Jonesboro (28-3), which bumped up to Class 6A at the start of the school year because of reclassification.
Jonesboro advanced to Saturday's 1:30 p.m. semifinal game against Cabot.
Bentonville was held to a season-low 28 points after managing 36 in a loss to Cypress Fall, Texas, during a December tournament. Jonesboro, which extended its winning streak to 13 consecutive, took the court for the first time in six days after receiving a first-round bye for the state tournament. But there was no rust in the Hurricane, who rolled to leads of 19-4 after one quarter and 32-8 at halftime.
Jonesboro (28-3) displayed superior athleticism and depth against Bentonville. Devarius Montgomery finished with 13 points to lead a parade of scorers from Jonesboro. Isaac Harrell had one more point (9) in the first half for Jonesboro than Bentonville (8) had after two quarters.
"It was a little easier to sub out when you get that lead in the first quarter, but we definitely wanted to go nine deep tonight," Jonesboro Coach Wes Swift said. "We got a lot of people some minutes. You never know when you're going to need them."
Bentonville (21-9) could not get going offensively after beating Bryant 52-50 in a first-round game behind 21 points by Jaylen Lee. Bentonville was already behind 13-4 when Xander Collins managed the Tigers' first field goal with 3:17 left in the second quarter. During one stretch, Jonesboro turned consecutive steals into fast-break points and Montgomery prompted "ooohs" and "aaahs" from the crowd at Mountie Arena when he drove past two defenders and dunked the basketball to give the Golden Hurricane a 13-2 lead.
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"That's what we've hung our hats on all year long," Swift said of Jonesboro's ability to get its hands on the basketball in the passing lanes. "Defense keeps us in basketball games and it's why we're giving up about 41 points a game."
Jonesboro maintained its lead with four players off the bench before the starters returned and quickly increased its lead to 30-8 following a turnaround jumper and three-point basket from Harrell, a 6-8 senior forward.
Aden Waller had six points to lead Bentonville.
CABOT 44,
SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 38
Cabot built a huge lead then held off a late rally to eliminate Springdale Har-Ber.
Jermaine Christopher scored 16 points to lead Cabot (21-8), which led 41-20 after three quarters. Har-Ber got to within 43-38 after two free throws from Jaxon Coley, who led the Wildcats with 14 points.
Christopher made two three-pointers and added a breakaway slam dunk to help the Panthers to a 22-11 lead at halftime. Har-Ber got to within 13-11 before Cabot answered with a 9-0 surge that ended on a three-pointer from Grant Goodard to end the second quarter.