Bentonville hits often enough
Bentonville’s most effective shots early came from the outside.
Junior Michael Shanks scored 16 points and the Tigers connected on 5 of 9 attempts from three-point range in a 46-37 victory over Cabot in the first round of the Class 7A state tournament at the North Little Rock High School Arena.
The Tigers (17-9) connected on 4 of 7 three-pointers and 6 of 13 overall from the floor in the first quarter.
“This time of year, you better make some shots,” Bentonville Coach Dick Rippee said. “It was nice to see our guys not only make them, but I thought we took good ones. I thought we had pretty good discipline. I thought we were patient. I thought we really made [Cabot] work hard defensively.”
Bentonville advances to play Fort Smith Northside in today’s quarterfinals.
Both sophomore Colton Simmons and senior Asa Hutchinson hit two three-pointers during the first quarter, propelling the Tigers to a 16-9 advantage after one quarter. Hutchinson also hit a three-pointer just prior to the halftime buzzer to give Bentonville a 23-18 halftime lead. Six seconds earlier, Cabot (18-11) held possession with a chance to take a lead, but a turnover cost the Panthers that opportunity.
“That was something we were trying to defend,” Cabot Coach Jerry Bridges said of Bentonville’s three-point attempts. “We knew [Simmons] and Asa could shoot it really well. … We’ve got to take that part of their game away from them. We did a poor job of that in the first half.”
Shanks, a 6-6 forward, did most of his damage from the inside. Hutchinson finished with 13 points while Simmons added 10.
Cabot senior Jalen Brown led his team with 12 points.
“When we’re giving up as many inches as we are, you really can’t afford to play from behind,” Bridges said. “But we’ve been grinding all year. We’ve been an undersized group of kids with big hearts. Their height was a factor for us to establish anything around the basket. When you become one-dimensional, it’s tough.”
Bentonville finished 16 of 29 from the floor and 9 of 14 from the free-throw line. Cabot was 14 of 34 from the floor, 4 of 6 from the line.
“Defensively, I thought we had a consistent effort all night long,” Rippee said. “I thought our guys competed, got in the right spots. They knew who they were guarding, and they knew what their game was.”
SPRINGDALE 51, BRYANT 38
Sophomore Trentez Scales scored 14 points and the Bulldogs (17-11) scored the game’s final 10 points to pull away from the Hornets (16-12).
Bryant trailed 33-21 late in the third quarter but had managed to cut the deficit to 41-38 with 4:25 remaining. The Hornets, however, did not score again, missing their final nine field-goal attempts.
Springdale hit 16 of 17 free throws, including a 6-of-6 showing by Scales.
Senior Carl Fitch scored all 12 of his points in the second half, and junior Vincent Mason came off the bench to add 12. Fitch grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
Sophomore Khalen Robinson led Bryant with 14 points. Senior Deron Canada added nine points.
Springdale was 16 of 33 from the floor while Bryant hit 11 of 44 shots.
BENTONVILLE WEST 72, FORT SMITH SOUTHSIDE 62
Senior Collier Blackburn scored nine of his 16 points in the fourth quarter as the Wolverines (19-9) rallied to defeat the Mavericks (15-14).
Southside held a 57-52 lead with 4:26 to play, but after three Mavericks starters fouled out, the Wolverines finished the game by scoring 20 of the final 25 points.
Senior Gabe Hornsby added 15 points, and sophomore Dillon Bailey hit 6 of his 7 free throws and finished with 11 points. Seniors Boston Barron and Garrett Wilmot each added 10.
Southside senior Ike Moore led his team with 19 points but was held scoreless in the fourth quarter. Junior Taye Gatewood hit 7 of 8 free-throw attempts to finish with 15 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists. Senior Ollis Brewer put in 13 points and senior Dillon Hamilton added 11 points. Both Brewer and Hamilton had five rebounds.