Bryant, Young put away West
CLASS 6A BRYANT 51, BENTONVILLE WEST 43 ERICK TAYLOR
Bryant made up for some missed time Friday.
The Hornets got busy defensively in the fourth quarter as they outlasted Bentonville West 51-43 in the second round of the Class 6A boys state tournament at North Little Rock’s Charging Wildcat Arena.
R.J. Young had 15 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks for Bryant (28-3), which was playing for only the second time in the past two weeks. But the Hornets, the top seed from the 6A-Central Conference, were steady at key moments against the Wolverines, namely in the fourth quarter.
Bryant held West (16-14) to five points in the final eight minutes. The closing push was good enough to catapult the Hornets into the semifinals, where they’ll play North Little Rock at 7:30 p.m. today.
“I’m proud of our guys,” Bryant Coach Mike Abrahamson said. “It was really tough. I thought Bentonville West played a great game, made it real tough on us. I don’t think we shot a great percentage, but I like the shots that we got.
“Not playing for a week, and then we only had one game last week, and these kids hate a layoff. But I’m just proud of the fight they showed.”
Kellen Robinson scored 16 points and Camarion Bead tacked on 10 points for Bryant. .
Ben Van Hecke led the Wolverines with 10 points and Lane Jeffcoat and Jaxon Brust ended with 10 points each.
“Man, I really couldn’t be any prouder of my guys,” Bentonville West Coach Greg White said. “We gave the No. 1 seed all they wanted. Bryant has some really outstanding players, and Abrahamson does a great job. But I’m not going to fault what my guys did.”
Bryant struggled from the field in the first two quarters, and that helped West stick around for the better part of the first half. The Hornets led 15-14 midway through the second quarter but managed to close on a 10-4 spurt to take a 25-18 halftime lead.
But West began pounding the ball inside to the 6-10 Jeffcoat in the third quarter, and the Rice football signee delivered.
The Hornets led 27-21 before a score from Jeffcoat started a 12-3 run. He would net six points in the flurry — all within 2 feet of the basket — and later had a nifty crosscourt feed to Van Hecke, who hit a three-pointer while being fouled. He would complete the four-point play.
But Bryant had a response. Young’s putback started a quick 9-0 run to put it ahead 39-33. The Wolverines retorted with the final five points of the quarter, with Brust burying a three-pointer at the buzzer, to get within 39-38.
The fourth quarter, on the other hand, belonged to the Hornets. Robinson’s driving scoop began a period-beginning 8-1 run to start Bryant’s winning stretch. Young also had seven points in the quarter.
“Huge,” Abrahamson said of Young. “He made a big shot in the lane, had another putback, blocked a three, stole a pass on a lob. … The dude is different. He’s special.”
NORTH LITTLE ROCK 80, FAYETTEVILLE 63
Ja’Kory Withers scored 28 points for North Little Rock (21-7), which wouldn’t let the Bulldogs rallied completely in their rematch.
The Charging Wildcats led by 19 points in the second half when the teams met in December, but Fayetteville (25-6) roared back to seize a 60-51 win during the John Stanton Classic in Conway.
Braylon Frazier had 16 points, Robert Griffin provided 11 and Andre Barnes followed with nine for North Little Rock. D.J. Hudson finished with 17 points, Xavier Brown put in 16 and Ornette Gaines added 10 for Fayetteville.