Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Bench play helps Fayettevil­le past Harrison.

- RICK FIRES Rick Fires can be reached at rfires@ nwadg.com or on Twitter @NWARick.

FAYETTEVIL­LE 58, HARRISON 46

FAYETTEVIL­LE — Fayettevil­le received major contributi­ons from its bench Friday to win its second game in the Fayettevil­le Bulldog Classic.

Hank Gibbs sparked a second-quarter surge and freshman Isaiah Releford played like a veteran in the fourth quarter to help Fayettevil­le to a 58-46 victory over Harrison at Bulldog Arena. Collin Cooper led the way for Fayettevil­le with 15 points after he eclipsed 1,000 points for his career during a 67-57 victory over Hot Springs on Thursday.

Fayettevil­le badly outscored Harrison in the second (15-6) and fourth quarters (16-7) while posting its fifth consecutiv­e victory. Gibbs provided a spark in the second quarter with five points, including a 3-point basket after scoring inside on an assist from Isaiah Releford.

In the fourth quarter, Gibbs took an inside feed from Darius Bowers for a basket to put the Bulldogs ahead 50-46. Gibbs also teamed with Tamaury Releford to help contain Harrison’s Carson Journagan, who scored 26 points for Harrison during a win over Lee’s Summit (Mo.) West on Thursday.

“Hank had a big impact in the game and he and Darius continue to get better and better,” Fayettevil­le coach Kyle Adams said of the two athletes who played quarterbac­k for the football team at Fayettevil­le. “They’re still getting in basketball shape, which is different from football shape.”

Class 4A Harrison (5-2) mounted a comeback in the second half and tied the game on a basket by Journagan with six minutes, 10 seconds left to play. But Isaiah Releford made two steals in the fourth quarter and connected on six consecutiv­e free throws to help Fayettevil­le secure the victory.

“We’re experiment­ing and playing different lineups to see what works,” Adams said. “Isaiah and that second group came in and settled in, and did a good job.”

Jacob Shrum added nine points for Harrison while Tamaury Releford had nine points and three blocked shots for Fayettevil­le (6-1).

“Their inside presence was strong and they went right to it, which was smart,” Harrison coach David Stahler said. “We also missed some wide open 3s that hurt.”

In other games Friday, Hot Springs defeated Lee’s Summit (Mo.) West 80-62, Jacksonvil­le edged Springdale 56-54, and Blythevill­e beat Conway 52-45.

Harrison ............ 14 6 19 7 — 46 Fayettevil­le ........ 14 15 13 16 — 58 Harrison (5-2): Journagan 13, Shrum 9, Elliott 7, Saylors 7, Gundry 6, Martin 4.

Fayettevil­le (6-1): Cooper 15, I. Releford 11, T. Releford 9, Gibbs 7, Garrett 7, Barrett 3, Bowers 3, Wright 3.

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 ?? NWA Democrat-Gazette/ANDY SHUPE ?? Fayettevil­le forward Hank Gibbs (left) drives to the lane as Harrison center Jayce Martin defends Friday at Bulldog Arena in Fayettevil­le. Visit nwadg.com/photos to see more photograph­s from the game.
NWA Democrat-Gazette/ANDY SHUPE Fayettevil­le forward Hank Gibbs (left) drives to the lane as Harrison center Jayce Martin defends Friday at Bulldog Arena in Fayettevil­le. Visit nwadg.com/photos to see more photograph­s from the game.

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