Har-Ber’s Nerenberg makes good

6A-WEST BOYS SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 46, ROGERS HERITAGE 41

SPRINGDALE — Garrett Nerenberg made good on his IOU on Friday night at Springdale Har-Ber.

Nerenberg scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Wildcats (9-3, 1-1 6A-West) to a 46-41 victory over Rogers Heritage (3-6, 0-1) at Wildcat Area. The senior forward was particularly effective in the second half when he scored 12 points, including eight of Har-Ber’s 14 points in the fourth quarter.

“[Nerenberg] texted or emailed me on Tuesday and said, ‘Coach, I owe you one,’” Springdale Har-Ber Coach Tommy Deffebaugh said. “He did not play well at Bentonville. He did not even scratch at Bentonville. After that text, I knew he was going to come in tonight and give it everything he had. You could just see it out there.”

Points were hard to come by in a slow-paced game where Rogers Heritage led 25-23 at halftime and 33-32 after three quarters. Nerenberg and Jermaine Tilford changed the outcome by battling inside for baskets and making free throws. Tilford made 7 of 10 free throws and finished with 12 points for Har-Ber, which led by as much as eight points in the second half.

“We don’t have that kind of athletic team like we did last year, and they were seniors,” Deffebaugh said. “We’re an inexperienced team, and these guys didn’t even play varsity last year. They played JV. So, we’re all brand new and we’re trying to figure things out.”

Har-Ber was able to hold off Heritage and Micah Hill, who scored 24 points, including 11 of 12 free throws. Hill excited the crowd in the third quarter when he drove in from the wing and slammed the ball into the net. He followed seconds later with a three-pointer from the corner to give the War Eagles a 33-32 lead heading into the final quarter, but Har-Ber outscored Heritage 14-8 in the fourth quarter behind Nerenberg and Tilford, who made four free throws.

Heritage led 25-23 at halftime with the help of a threepoint basket from Jaden Torres late in the second quarter. Nearly half of Har-Ber’s points in the first half came on layups after forcing Heritage into turnovers with its half-court defense.

Nerenberg made a steal and a layup before Tilford made a turnaround basket with the shot clock running out to pull the Wildcats to within 24-23. David Cabello countered with a free throw to give Heritage its two-point lead at halftime.