Tigers pull away late from Fayetteville

Bentonville High enjoyed a noticeable size advantage against Fayetteville, but the Tigers’ 3-point shooting proved to be the difference Saturday afternoon in Bulldog Arena. Bentonville hit 10 of 22 3-pointers, including a big one from from junior Josh Smith, to pull away late for a 56-44 win. The Tigers (6 -9, 2 -1 7A-West Conference) trailed only briefly in the second half, but Smith drilled a 3-pointer from the far right wing with a defender in his face that proved to be the back-breaker. The slender 6-foot-3 junior hit three 3-pointers in the game, but the big one came with 2 minutes, 26 seconds left and gave Bentonville a 48-38 advantage. “That three from Josh Smith was the dagger I thought,” Bentonville coach Jason McMahan said. “Then it became about getting rebounds for us. We had told Josh we wanted him probing for his shot. That’s what he can do and we wanted him looking for an open one. The ball turned a couple times and that’s a shot he can make.” Smith then hit another 3-pointer from the corner 30 seconds later that gave the Tigers their biggest lead of the game at 52-40. McMahan was pleased with the way his team bounced back from Friday’s loss to Springdale Har-Ber, playing less than 12 hours later, especially defensively. Fayetteville (6-9, 1-2) made just 3 of 22 (14 percent) from beyond the arc. “We kept grinding defensively,’ McMahan said. “I felt good about good about us getting out to all the people who could really hit shots for them. I was really proud of that effort. Our kids worked hard to win this one.” Bentonville got balanced scoring led by senior Jordan Hemphill’s 12 points and 12 rebounds. Asa Hutchinson added 11 and Arman Akbar 10. Smith and Aaron Estrada had nine each for the Tigers, who led 37-33 after three quarters. Estrada also dished out a game-high six assists. Fayetteville coach Kyle Adams the difference in the game was the disparity from the 3-point line. The Purple Bulldogs were 0-for-11 from beyond the arc in the first half. “That’s not characteristic of us,’ Adams said. “We’re not a 40 percent 3-point shooting team, but we’ll make three or four and I think that got us down a little bit. They do a good job in their zone, but I thought we got the ball inside against them really well. We didn’t finish when we got it down there a few times. “But all in all my kids are competing their tails off. I can’t ask for any more than that.” Brennon Lewis and Bradon Simon led Fayetteville with 11 points each.

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TIGERS PULL AWAY LATE FROM FAYETTEVILLE

PAUL BOYD

Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette | 1/15/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Andy Shupe