Rogers Heritage pulls away for 64-44 win

ROGERS — Waynesville, Mo., stayed close for three quarters thanks to a height advantage, but Rogers Heritage’s defense and execution proved too much Friday night in the 13th annual Arvest Hoopfest at War Eagle Arena.

The War Eagles (4-2) opened the fourth quarter with a 10-2 spurt to push their lead to double digits and rolled to a 64-44 victory.

Heritage forced 17 Waynesville turnovers but took advantage of a flurry to begin the fourth quarter to help take control of the game.

Heritage coach Tom Olsen was pleased with his team’s overall performance, but especially point guard Ernesto Rodriguez. The 5-foot-8 senior finished with a team-high 16 points, but also added six steals and four assists.

“It was awesome how they were able to execute,” Olsen said. “Our point guard was really special tonight. He found that control speed where they are still able to change directions and make decisions. He found that tonight.

“The kids executed well against their zone, which got them out of something they wanted to do. They went to a

Arvest Hoopfest

At War Eagle Arena, Rogers Heritage THURSDAY’S SCORES

Rogers Heritage 60, Mt. Vernon, Mo. 38 Rogers High 54, Carl Junction, Mo. 50 Waynesville, Mo. 68, Clarksville 36 Fort Smith Southside 66, Webb City, Mo. 57

FRIDAY’S SCORES

Mt. Vernon, Mo. 56, Clarksville 31 Webb City, Mo. 68, Carl Junction, Mo. 55 Rogers Heritage 64, Waynesville, Mo. 44 Rogers High 64, Fort Smith Southside 49

man and the kids did a great job in a couple of our sets getting some drives to the basket. That turned a six- or eightpoint game to 15 or 16.”

Ethan Carpenter and Jason Kimball chipped in 12 points each for the War Eagles. Carpenter added four rebounds, four steals and three assists.

Those two came up big in during Heritage’s fourth-quarter surge.

Kimball scored off a drive to open the quarter and Carpenter followed with a steal and layup. Rodriguez got another deflection, which led to Logan Clines’ driving layup and a 4634 lead with a little more than five minutes left.

Waynesville coach Chris Pilz credited Heritage for playing cleaner. He also said his Tigers didn’t execute well defensively when they changed to a man-to-man.

“Heritage is a good team. They were really aggressive,” Pilz said. “You can’t continue to turn the ball over. They’re probably not 20 points better than us. They were tonight. You’ve got to tip your cap to those guys. Coach Olsen has them playing really well.

“We wanted them to be shooters, not drivers. We wanted to just play the shot clock. We had guys get out of position and let them drive.”

Tahja Stewart, a 6-foot-3 senior, led all scorers with 17 points. He was the Tigers’ only player in double figures. Three others finished with eight each, including 6-5 junior Jayden Smith.

In other games Friday, Rogers High (6-1) jumped to a 21-11 lead after a quarter en route to a 64-49 win over Fort Smith Southside in the other winner’s bracket game. Drew Miller led three Mounties in double figures with 14. Jaelon Carter added 13 and Joseph Park 10. Tyrese Soloman led Southside (4-4) with 13. In the consolation bracket, Mt. Vernon, Mo. downed Clarksville 56-31. Webb City, Mo. used a fourth-quarter surge to pull away for a 68-55 win over Carl Junction, Mo.

The final day of the tournament was canceled because of the threat of winter weather. Waynesville ........ 7 18 9 10 — 44 Rogers Heritage .. 14 14 12 24 — 64 Waynesville (3-2): Stewart 17, Rees 8, Smith 8, O’Neil 8, Rogers 3.

Rogers Heritage (4-2): Rodriguez 16, Kimball 12, Carpenter 12, Clines 8, Paxton 6, Ingram 6, Snider 2, Furuseth 2.