Tigers start hot, hold off Bulldogs

BENTONVILLE 69, SPRINGDALE 62

SPRINGDALE — For three quarters, Bentonville was cruising in its big 6A-West clash with Springdale on Saturday.

The Tigers owned leads of as much as 17 points and a blowout road win against one of the top teams in the conference seemed likely. But the double-digit margin shrunk to just four points with under four minutes left, and Bentonville was on the verge of a meltdown.

Then junior post Caden Miller made three momentumchanging plays that proved huge in the Tigers’ 6962 win.

With Bentonville clinging to a 55-51 lead with 3:30 left, Springdale had chances to close the gap even more but was repelled by the 6-9 Miller. On back-to-back Springdale possessions, Miller blocked Bulldogs’ shots, then on the offensive end, Miller grabbed an offensive rebound and threw down a dunk that turned the momentum back to Bentonville.

“I thought he was really, really good today,” Bentonville Coach Dick Rippee said of Miller. “I thought he was very, very aggressive and did the things we really needed him to do. I thought he was just fantastic and made some big plays down the stretch. We had several guys who stepped up and got some big rebounds.”

After the big throwdown, the Tigers were able to run away with big free throws in the final three minutes as senior point guard Jaylen Lee knocked down seven fourth-quarter free throws.

The win keeps Bentonville (18-4, 8-2 6A-West) within a game of league-leading Bentonville West in the conference race. The two teams will square off Tuesday at West. In the first meeting, West claimed a 49-46 win. The Tigers have three games this week in a jumbled schedule that was altered by the wintry weather of the past two weeks. On Wednesday Bentonville goes to Heritage, then the Tigers host Springdale Har-Ber.

The loss Saturday puts Springdale two games back in the loss column. The Bulldogs (18-6, 7-3) have lost two of their past three games.

Bentonville came out gunning Saturday, scoring 21 points in the first quarter and 20 in the second to claim a 41-32 halftime lead. Aden Waller scored 12 of his 18 points in the first half and Miller added 10 points. Lee, who led the Tigers with 19, was able to get his teammates the ball in position to score, said Rippee.

“I thought Jaylen handled the ball against their press really well,” Rippee said. “I just thought we grew up a bunch today.”

Springdale shook off the big deficit by scoring the first 8 points of the final quarter. Sophomore guard Isaiah Sealy, who scored a game-high 26 points, opened the fourth quarter with a deep three-pointer and Carson Tangness added a three-pointer in the run. Tangness’ three-pointer with 3:57 left made it a 55-51 game, but he also missed the front end of a one-and-one before Miller’s three game-sealing plays.

Lee said playing in a hostile environment like Saturday’s game at Bulldog Gym is always special.

“I mean I love it,” Lee said. “The crowd gets into it, we get into it. That’s what makes it fun. I have a lot of respect for those guys, so to get a win like today after a crazy week like we had, I mean, it’s huge.”

“I thought he was very, very aggressive and did the things we really needed him to do.” Bentonville coach Dick Rippee on junior Caden Miller