Benton has fiery start, rolls to win

BENTON 81, LR SOUTHWEST 52

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

BENTON — A lightning start gave Benton an early lead against Little Rock Southwest on Thursday night, and solid play thereafter allowed it to keep it.

Terrion Burgess had 19 points to pilot the Panthers to an 81-52 victory at the Benton Classic.

A.D. Gray followed with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Harrison Pickett had 14 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals for Benton (5-0), which rode a blistering first quarter to put the Gryphons in a tough spot.

The Panthers hit their first eight shots and had a 20-5 lead with the game barely four minutes old. Southwest (0-4) made a mini-run after that, only to see Benton finish the quarter on a 10-3 run to grab a huge lead.

“It certainly helps when you make shots early,” said Benton Coach Dexter Hendrix, whose team hit 60% (12 of 20) of their field goals in the first quarter. “But I thought the guys came out focused. I think our defense kind of fed off the shots going in, and that allowed us to get some points in transition, too. Just a really good start for us, but we know we’ve still got a lot to work on just like everybody else.”

Benton continued to shoot well in the second quarter when it hit 8 of 14 (57.1%) shots and at one point, led by 26 points following a 10-3 run during a two-minute span. About the only thing that didn’t go right for the Panthers was the fact that Burgess, a 6-9 forward and consensus 4-star recruit nationally, had to sit the final 4:31 of the first half because of foul trouble.

But Hendrix previously talked about how others have repeatedly stepped up during in their prior four games, and they did so again whenever Benton needed it Thursday.

“Terrion’s a huge piece for us, and we know he’s going to play well, but it’s who’s going to carry the load after him,” Hendrix said. “And multiple guys have come to the forefront and turned up their play, turned up their intensity. A.D. Gray stepped up and played really well. Elam Shelby hit some big shots for us, Jarvarious, Caleb Knight … just a lot of different guys have come up big.”

The Panthers led 36-20 when Burgess went to the bench but outscored the Gryphons 14-8 the rest of the second quarter to lead 50-28 at halftime. Southwest scored four of the first six points in the third quarter before a dunk from Burgess started a 12-2 run that gave Benton a 30-point lead.

Javarious Russell tacked on 8 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals for the Panthers, who’ll play Springdale HarBer today at 5:30 p.m. Benton finished 33 of 62 (53.2%) and enjoyed a 33-20 rebounding edge.

James DeLoach had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Southwest, which shot 18 of 48 (37.5%) from the floor. Johnathan Hudson scored nine points.

SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 69, FARMINGTON 52

Courtland Muldrew had 13 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter to help HarBer (5-0) stay undefeated.

Jaxon Conley scored 16 points, and Jabarih Washington added 15 points — all on three-pointers — for the Wildcats, who never trailed and led 32-25 at halftime. Muldrew added four rebounds and four steals.

Layne Taylor had 29 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals for Farmington (7-1), which got within 44-37 in the third quarter, but a three-pointer by Washington started another Wildcats’ run that allowed them to build a substantial cushion. Jaxon Berry had 14 points for the Cardinals as well.

GIRLS VALLEY SPRINGS 57, BENTON 54

Maci Willis had 16 of her 24 points in the second half to help Valley Springs (7-4) roar back to beat the host team.

Camie Moore supplied 14 points for the Lady Tigers, who were down 30-26 at halftime and 39-38 after three quarters but finally caught the Lady Panthers when Laramie Watkins’ layup with 4:17 left in the fourth quarter gave them a 46-45 lead.

Benton (3-3) later regained the advantage and was up 48-47 until a basket from Moore with 2:53 remaining gave Valley Springs the lead again. The Lady Tigers were able to hold on from there.

McCartney Asher scored 22 points, Ashley Wallace had 14 points and Brynn Barbaree connected for 13 points for the Lady Panthers.

WEST MEMPHIS 51, EPISCOPAL COLLEGIATE 22

Aniya Price turned in 18 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals in a coast-to-coast victory for West Memphis (4-3).

Tyra Taylor added 16 points and seven rebounds for the Lady Blue Devils, who scored the game’s first 28 points. West Memphis finished 20 of 54 (37%) from the field and outrebounded the Lady Wildcats 36-18.

Episcopal Collegiate (2-3) missed its first 10 shots and didn’t make its first field goal until the 3:55 mark of the second quarter when Laney Marsh drilled a 23-footer from the wing.

The sophomore finished with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals for the Lady Wildcats, who shot 7 of 40 (17.5%) and hurt themselves with 18 turnovers. Sophie Eble added six points.