FAYETTEVILLE LOCKS DOWN BENTONVILLE

Jon Conley reached in and poked the ball away, then dashed down the court for a layup. As the basketball settled into the net, Conley gave a little fist-bump, knowing his shot likely sealed a big 7A-West Conference win for Fayetteville on Friday in Bulldog Arena. Conley scored a team-high 12 points, six coming in the final quarter, as the Bulldogs maintained their share of the conference lead with a 50-37 win against Bentonville High. The Bulldogs (13-7, 6-2 7A-West) played lock-down defense the entire game to open the second round of league play with a big home-court win. Bentonville had defeated the Bulldogs in their first meeting. "I thought our defense played really well," said Fayetteville coach Kyle Adams. "I thought Quinn (Schach) did a great job guarding Asa (Hutchinson). He's just a tremendous basketball player, can really shoot the ball and just does a lot of different things well. Quinn is by far our best defender. I know he got his points, but we guarded him really well." Fayetteville did not shoot the ball well (19-of-44), but the Bulldogs didn't have to as Bentonville shot just 13-of-43. The Bulldogs also got huge production off the bench from 6-foot-7 freshman Tamaury Releford. Releford also scored 12 points, but it was his eight points and one huge blocked shot in the second quarter that helped the Bulldogs take a 21-17 halftime lead. "It's not a surprise to us, seeing the way he practices," Adams said. "He's getting better and better. He's played well on the offensive end, but he's really getting better on the defensive end, too. The sky is the limit for the young man." Bentonville (13-6, 5-3) battled back in the third quarter to take a 23-21 lead on a 3-pointer from Colton Simmons. But the lead quickly evaporated as Fayetteville ran off a 12-0 spurt as Colin Cooper hit a pull-up jumper and a 3-pointer from the left perimeter, then Darius Bowers hit a slashing bucket in the lane. Bowers finished with 11 and Cooper 10 as four Bulldogs reached double figures. Fayetteville led by 12, 37-25 after three quarters and clinched the game down the stretch at the free-throw line. Hutchinson scored a game-high 16 for the Tigers. Fayetteville will host Bentonville West on Tuesday, and Bentonville will host Van Buren Girls Fayetteville 47, Bentonville 41 (OT) The Lady Bulldogs did not take their first lead until the overtime period after falling in a big hole early. Sophomore Coriah Beck scored a season and career-high 24 points, including clutch free throws down the stretch to help Fayetteville (16-3, 8-0) stay unbeaten in the 7A-West. "If she hadn't played the way she did, we might have gotten beat," said Fayetteville coach Vic Rimmer of Beck. "She's a sophomore, but we trust her with the ball in her hands." Beck was 7 of 13 from the floor and 8 of 9 at the free-throw line to lead the Lady Bulldogs to the come-from-behind win. Sophomore Sasha Goforth added 16 -- all in the second half and overtime. Bentonville (16-5, 5-3) raced to a big early lead as Avery Hughes scored 15 of her 18 points in the first half as the Lady Tigers led 20-14 at the break. That lead evaporated in the first minute of the second half as Fayetteville came out of halftime on fire and quickly took a 22-20 lead. It was close the rest of the way. Each team had a chance to win at the end of regulation but could not get late shots to fall. Maryam Dauda scored 10 points for Bentonville and the 6-foot-4 freshman's presence inside was a game-changer.

FAYETTEVILLE LOCKS DOWN BENTONVILLE

Photo Credit: Andy Shupe

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