Emotions are high at the Battle of the Bulldogs

The Battle of the Bulldogs can usually spark the emotions of both Fayetteville and Springdale High, and Friday night was no exception. With under 15 seconds left in a tight game, an intentional foul under the Fayetteville goal brought players and fans onto the court in a scene that could have gotten violent. After a lot of pushing and shoving and multiple ejections, Springdale claimed a 50-46 win in 6A-West boys basketball action in Bulldog Gym. Springdale led 49-46 with 12.3 seconds left when Fayetteville missed a shot. In the battle for the rebound, Fayetteville junior Austin Garrett was charged with an intentional foul and was ejected after Springdale's Tavari Eckwood was slung to the floor. The play brought players off both benches and fans onto the court. It took more than 5 minutes for order to be restored and for officials to sort out ejections for players who entered the court. Springdale was able to hold on at the end giving coach Jeremy Price, who played in quite a few of these rivalry games, perhaps his biggest win as the Red'Dogs' coach. "I'm proud of my kids to get this win, but I hate what transpired late," Price said. "Nobody wants to see that. It hurts the game. But I'm proud of my kids to night for winning this game." Fayetteville coach Kyle Adams, also a veteran of the rivalry as a longtime coach, said he was disappointed in how the game ended. "I thought both teams competed their tails off," Adams said. "It was very edgy at the end. Unfortunately it busted out in a melee. The bottom line is, that's not how we act, and that's not who we are. We got caught up in the moment. That's unfortunate for us and the basketball team. But that all falls on me. They want to protect their teammates, and I get that, but that falls on me; it doesn't fall on them." Until the late-game fireworks marred the finish, Springdale (11-12, 5-7 6A-West) was the team that was in control. The Red'Dogs built an early 10-point lead and, despite missing a number of free throws, held the upper hand for most of the game. Springdale did not make a field goal in the fourth quarter and was 13 of 23 at the line, which enabled Fayetteville (19-5, 10-2) to come roaring back. Fayetteville sophomore post Tamaury Releford led the late charge, scoring 17 of his 21 points in the second half. Releford's inside bucket with 2 minutes, 23 seconds left in the game pulled the Purple'Dogs within 40-38. One of the biggest plays of the game did not result in points, but Springdale's Chops Sanders was able to tip a rebound back to a teammate with 1:31 left and Jujuan Boyd was fouled. His two free throws gave Springdale a 42-38 lead, which proved to be huge. "Chops made hustle plays all night long," Price said. "He's been a leader for us. A lot of 50-50 balls he's able to get his hands on. He's able to keep things alive, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds. He's really been a major spark plug for our team." Vincent Mason led Springdale with 19 points and Boyd finished with 13. Neither coach knew how the multiple-player ejections would affect their teams for next week's games. Both said the would likely have to review film to see what players went onto the court. The five players for each team that were on the court when the benches cleared won't face a suspension. Fayetteville 4 11 13 18 -- 46 Springdale 12 11 14 13 -- 50

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Fayetteville High School Athletics

EMOTIONS ARE HIGH AT THE BATTLE OF THE BULLDOGS

CHIP SOUZA

Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette | 2/16/2019

PHOTO CREDIT: Fayetteville High School Athletics