Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Mounties clip Bulldogs in boys final
SILOAM SPRINGS — If Saturday’s boys matchup in the finals of the Siloam Springs Holiday Classic is any indication, the next two battles between 6A-West rivals Rogers High and Springdale High should be fun to watch.
Rogers’ Derek Hobbs banked in a shot with less than a minute remaining to break a tie score and what would be the game’s final points in a 47-45 Mounties victory inside Panther Activity Center.
Both teams combined to go 0 for 5 from the free-throw line inside the final minute, with Rogers missing chances to put the game away and Springdale also not capitalizing at the line.
Jajuan Boyd’s shot from midcourt missed at the final horn as the Mounties held on for the win.
“Springdale’s a good team,” said Rogers coach Lamont Frazier. “For a while there, they dictated the pace of the game. Luckily we were able to withstand that. Hat goes off to them for dictating and for us being able to take it.”
Springdale led 29-23 with 6 minutes, 37 seconds remaining in the third quarter after Vincent Mason threw down an alley oop and added one free throw.
Rogers took control of the game at that point, though, with Mason and Boyd on the bench with foul trouble. The Mounties went on a 14-3 run to end the quarter and take a 37-32 lead.
“We got in foul trouble,” said Springdale coach Jeremy Price. “When your two leading players are on the bench for half a game it creates a momentum swing.”
Springdale got back in it at the start of the fourth, taking a 39-38 lead, but Rogers got it back for good on a basket by Jaelon Carter.
Carter scored again and Hobbs hit a 3-pointer as Rogers went up 45-39.
Springdale scored the next six points to tie the game with 1:07 left, setting up Hobbs’ basket.
Drew Miller led Rogers with 13 points, including a 3-pointer from more than half court at the end of the first quarter. Carter added nine and Elliot Paschal had eight.
Tavari Eckwood had 16 of his game-high 21 points in the first quarter for Springdale. Rogers ............... 17 6 14 10 — 47 Springdale .......... 18 6 8 13 — 45 Rogers (10-2): Miller 13, Carter 9, Paschal 8, Park 6, Hobbs 5, Uecker 5, Rhame 1.
Springdale (6-6): Eckwood 21, Mason 7, Boyd 5, Hignite 4, Sanders 3, Henry 3, Pounders 2.
GIRLS SPRINGDALE 62, ROGERS 50
Springdale didn’t need a monster night from Marquesha Davis to win its second straight Siloam Springs Holiday Classic championship.
Davis led with 17 points and three other Lady Bulldogs joined her in double figures as Springdale pulled away for the win over the Lady Mounties.
Jeniya Gause added 12 points, while Thay Sysavanh had 11, Ashlyn Minchew 10 and Ashley Pegue and Alexa Bersi each with six.
“We want to be balanced,” said Springdale coach Heather Hunsucker. “We want to
play a lot of kids, between 8 and 10 kids a game. Tonight I think we played nine. I was really proud of the girls tonight.
A night after scoring 35 points against Siloam Springs, Davis went for 11 in the first half against Rogers as Springdale took a 29-19 lead at halftime.
Her teammates picked it up in the second half as Minchew and Bersi combined to score the final 10 points of the third quarter as Springdale took a 43-36 lead.
Pegue opened the fourth with a 3-pointer and Minchew followed with a basket. Gause had six points down the stretch as the Lady Bulldogs pulled ahead by double digits.
Kate McConnell led Rogers with 17 points, including three 3-pointers in the first quarter. But Rogers went scoreless over the final 5:41 of the first half.
Rogers ............... 12 7 17 14 — 50 Springdale ............ 9 20 14 19 — 62 Rogers (8-4): McConnell 17, Storey 8, Covington 7, Hatch 7, Figenskau 4, Carr 3, Brockhoff 2, Treadwell 2. Springdale (7-4): Davis 17, Gause 12, Sysavanh 11, Minchew 10, Bersi 6, Pegue 6.