Bentonville 41, Bryant 37
CLASS 6A BENTONVILLE 41, BRYANT 37
FAYETTEVILLE — Bentonville’s defensive play allowed the Tigers to get one more game under their belt this season.
Bentonville denied Bryant every time the Hornets had a chance to tie or take the lead during the fourth quarter Thursday night, and the Tigers moved on to the Class 6A state tournament semifinals with a 41-37 victory at Bulldog Arena.
Bentonville (22-2) pulled off the victory despite not getting a field goal after senior guard Thane Spencer drove into the lane and scored with 6:31 remaining.
“It was an old-fashioned slugfest,” Tigers Coach Dick Rippee said. “Our guys battled, and I thought we did some really good things in the third quarter to get us a little cushion, but boy, they have some clutch players.
“Our guys got some defensive rebounds when we needed to get them and got some stops when we really needed to get them.”
Bryant (19-5) had the ball last and survived a potential disaster when Camren Hunter fell to the floor with the ball, but the Hornets were given a timeout with nine seconds left.
Hunter again got the ball and went near the top of the key, where he went for the game-winning three-point shot. The ball hit the back of the rim and bounced high in the air before Jaylen Lee grabbed the rebound and tried to escape the mob near the basket. He was fouled with 0.4 seconds remaining, and he hit both free throws to seal the Bentonville win.
“We thought they would run a high ball screen, and they did,” Rippee said of Bryant’s last play. “We got in a good switch that gave them some problems. I thought Hayden Shanks and Mason Krakau did a fantastic job against a very, very good player.
“The big thing was I know [Hunter] had a couple of offensive rebounds, but we limited his offensive rebounds. That’s what is so impressive on film is how he can offensive rebound and get off such a quick jumper. Our guys fought and made some plays down the stretch.”
Hunter ended the first quarter with a jumper to give Bryant a 15-14 lead, but Bentonville limited the Hornets to one field goal in the second quarter and outscored them 10-3 for a 24-19 halftime cushion.
The Tigers followed a Hunter bucket with seven consecutive points and took their biggest lead of the game, 31-21, on Shanks’ three-pointer with 4:17 left in the third quarter. Bryant responded with eight consecutive points to make it a 31-29 game going into the final eight minutes.
Spencer, who started the game instead of Abel Hutchinson, hit 8 of 9 free throws and finished with a Bentonville-high 10 points. Hunter had 10 of his 19 points in the first quarter to lead Bryant.
The game was delayed for a few minutes early in the third quarter when referee Cody Phillips went down with a leg injury and had to be helped off the court. Justin Cunningham was the third referee for the rest of the game.
LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL 68, BENTONVILLE WEST 48
Bryson Warren scored 24 points to lead the Tigers past Bentonville West.
The win was the 17th in the past 18 games for Central (22-4), which advanced to Saturday’s 1 p.m. semifinal game.
Central scored 14 consecutive points in the second quarter to overtake Bentonville West, which led 12-6 after a three-pointer by Riley Buccino late in the first quarter. The Tigers got their fast break going to stretch their lead to 30-22 at halftime, and 58-37 in the fourth quarter after a three-pointer by Warren.
Hudson Likens added 14 points and Corey Camper 12 for Central. Buccino scored 17 points to lead the Wolverines (18-12).