Bentonville continues winning ways with rout of Bryant, 62-30

BENTONVILLE HIGH 62, BRYANT 30

BENTONVILLE — Tom Halbmaier said Bentonville High’s girls picked up more in the Crabtree Invitational than just three lopsided victories.

When opposing teams made adjustments and forced Bentonville to think, the Lady Tigers made the most of those situations and continued to pull away. That included Friday night as Bentonville claimed a 62-30 victory over Bryant to complete the sweep in Tiger Arena.

The Lady Tigers (6-0) led 30-16 at halftime, then almost doubled that margin by the end of the third quarter by holding Bryant to just five points.

“We’re seeing a lot of variations on offense that we need to continue to work on and get better,” Bentonville coach Tom Halbmaier said. “These three coaches bring a lot of knowledge in terms of offensive sets and how to counter against matchups.

“What that does is better prepare us in the future. They do a great job of making those adjustments at halftime, and it’s forcing our players to communicate and talk.”

Bentonville already had an 8-0 lead when an early scare came. Senior guard Courtney Cochran was fouled when she drove the baseline and hit the court hard less than 2 minutes into the game, and she never returned.

Halbmaier, however, feels confident that she will return in time for Tuesday’s home game against Alma.

“It was tough on her to go down,” Halbmaier said. “She wanted to go ahead and finish strong, but she’ll be back. I’m not too worried. She’s a tough kid and she’ll bounce back.”

Fess Hawkins had 10 points in the first half, including a putback just before the buzzer sounded to end the first half. Avery Hughes then scored six points in an 11-1 Bentonville run to start the second half and extended the Lady Tigers’ lead to 41-17 margin.

Hughes finished with 13 points and Hawkins 12 to lead Bentonville while Emily Sanders — who played extra minutes in Cochran’s void — added 10. Kalia Walker, Robyn Gordon and Ivory Russ led Bryant with seven apiece.

HUNTSVILLE 57, CLARKSVILLE 53

Huntsville built a 36-26 halftime lead, then held off Clarksville to earn its first win in the tournament.

Maci Campbell scored 10 of her 18 points in the first quarter to lead the Lady Eagles (3-6), followed by Makayla Watkins with 11 and Kara Drewyer with 10. Grace Dougan finished with 22 to lead Clarksville (4-2) while Alexie Tibbs had 11.

BOYS

BRYANT 58, BENTONVILLE 49

Bryant scored the last seven points of the first half to take the lead for good, then went on to hand Bentonville its first loss under coach Dick Rippee.

The lead changed hands 11 times over the first 14 minutes, with the biggest lead being Bentonville’s 18-12 cushion after a Josh Smith 3-pointer late in the first quarter. Deron Canada’s bucket put Bryant ahead for good at 26-25 with 2:04 before halftime, and the Hornets extended it from a 31-25 halftime margin to a 4933 edge at the end of the third quarter.

Camren Hunter and Khalen Robinson had 15 points apiece for Bryant, followed by Canada with 13. Asa Hutchinson and Michael Shanks led Bentonville ( 2- 1) with 13 apiece, while Josh Smith added 11.

NWA HORNETS 75, CLARKSVILLE 59

The Hornets, a team consisting of area home-schooled players, outscored Clarksville 42-27 in the second half in order to pull away from the Panthers and salvage a win.

Chase Ammons had 22 to lead the Hornets, who stretched a 33-32 halftime lead into a 52-44 margin at the end of the third quarter, while Aaron Sanders added 16 and Carl Alexander 11. Trace Thomas had 30 for Clarksville, while Bob Hurley chipped in 13.