Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Robinson’s touch propels Bryant
BRYANT 71, BENTONVILLE 49
CENTERTON — Khalen Robinson swished a long 3-pointer to end the first half Saturday then walked slowly off the court like it was no big deal.
It was that kind of day for the junior sharp-shooter from Bryant.
Robinson scored 21 of his 34 points in the first half to lead Bryant to a 71-49 victory over Bentonville High in a Class 6A semifinal game at Bentonville West’s Wolverine Arena.
The top-seeded Hornets (24-4) advanced to Hot Springs, where they’ll meet Fort Smith Northside for the state championship later this week.
Robinson had 14 points in Thursday’s 73-39 victory over Cabot. He surpassed that total midway through the second quarter on Saturday against Bentonville (21-8), the No. 2 seed from the 6A-West Conference.
“Khalen’s special. That’s the only way to put it,” Bryant coach Michael Abrahamson said. “He’s hard to stop because he can do so many things.”
Bentonville tried to stay in contention behind Brayden Freeman and Michael Shanks, who scored the winning basket in the Tigers’ 59-56 upset of North Little Rock on Thursday. Shanks scored 20 and Freeman 14 but the two could not counter the overall play of Bryant, which grabbed a 40-25 lead early in the third quarter.
Treylon Payne added 18 points for Bryant, which won the Class 6A state championship in football last December.
“Bryant’s a special place,” Abrahamson said. “It’s not just athletics, but it’s band, choir. … everything is top-notch and everybody competes at a high level. I don’t know what it is other than it’s a very attractive place to be.”
Robinson had the hot hand from the outset when he scored the first five points for Bryant. He continued his surge in the second quarter and walked off the court after making a 3-pointer to put Bryant ahead 36-21 at halftime.
Bentonville attempted a comeback late in the third quarter after the Tigers fell behind 40-25. Michael Shanks scored five consecutive points before Connor Deffenbaugh converted a 3-point play to cut the Bryant lead to 48-40 after three quarters.
Any momentum Bentonville had ended quickly when Bryant pulled ahead again 6043 early in the fourth quarter.
Camren Hunter added 11 points for Bryant while Deffenbaugh contributed 10 for Bentonville.
Bentonville .......... 13 12 15 9 — 49
Bryant ................ 16 20 12 23 — 71
Bentonville (21-8): Shanks 20, Freeman 14, Deffebaugh 10, Spencer 3, Price 2.
Bryant (24-4): Robinson 34, Payne 18, Hunter 11, Lambert 6.
FORT SMITH NORTHSIDE 64, CONWAY 52
Northside made its free throws early and often as the Grizzlies knocked off Conway and earned its third straight trip to the state championship game.
Northside coach Eric Burnett said he had his team do a 15-minute free-throw drill at school before coming to Saturday night’s game. The Grizzlies (20-11) scored their first seven points off free throws and finished hitting 30 of 35 from the line.
“I was glad that the kids stepped up to the line and took care of business,” Burnett said. “We’ve been working on that a lot. They say if you can’t hit your free throws, you can’t win a championship. I felt like we proved that theory right.”
Noah Gordon was fouled on consecutive 3-point attempts and hit five of six free throws to start Northside’s scoring, and Javion Releford hit two more after a technical foul — the first of three called on Conway (20-8). Those free throws, followed by a Jermualle Norwood bucket, led to the Grizzlies’ early 9-2 lead with less than 3 minutes gone.
Northside led 16-10 after one quarter, then Jaylin Williams and Braylin McKinley combined for seven straight points to start the second quarter and a 23-10 cushion midway through the second quarter.
“Conway is so athletic, and I have to give those guys a lot of credit,” Burnett said. “I knew if we would pull up to shoot a shot, they were running at us. They can get out there and block those shots. We were able to maybe get it off a little late and they fouled us.”
The Grizzlies led 32-19 at halftime but, just like the previous two meetings, Conway made a comeback. The Wampus Cats ran off eight straight points and pulled within 35-29 on Caleb London’s bucket with 4:37 left in the third quarter, only to have Northside respond and make it a 4332 game heading into the third quarter.
Conway pulled within six again when Lerome Thompson’s bucket made it 5347 with 2:29 remaining and again at 5650 after a Terry Clardy 3-pointer at the 1:38 mark. Northside, however, closed the game by hitting 11 of 12 free throws, including four when Conway was called for two more technical fouls.
“We were up 10 at their place two minutes into the game, then turned the ball over and let them back in it,” Burnett said. “At our place, it’s the same thing. We’re up 10 with 2 minutes to go, and we let them get some steals.
“This time, we handled the ball and didn’t turn the ball over. That allowed us to finish the game. Everybody across the board, everybody did a good job. I was proud of them stepping up.”
Williams finished with 19 to lead a trio of Grizzlies in double figures, followed by Releford with 15 and McKinley with 12. Clardy had 14 to lead Conway, while Trey Tull and Kylen Milton added 10 apiece.
Conway ............... 10 9 13 20 — 52
Northside ............ 16 16 11 21 — 64
Conway (20-8): Clardy 14, Tull, 10, Milton 10, London 8, Williams 6, Kaiser 2, Campbell 2.
Fort Smith Northside (20-11): Williams 19, Releford 15, McKinley 12, Norwood 9, Gordon 9.