NEOSHO, Mo. - Bentonville used its defense to fuel the offense Thursday afternoon.
Bentonville forced Springfield (Mo.) Parkview into 19 turnovers, and Tyrik Dixon led three players in double figures as the Tigers defeated the Vikings 57-38 in a Gold Division fi rst-round game at the 59th annual Neosho Classic.
Bentonville (4-2) will play the winner of Thursday’s night game between Sagemont, Fla. and West Memphis at 6:30 p.m. today in the semifinals at the high school. The finals are set for Saturday night. Sagemont is 13-0 and they have two Division 1 guards in GG Goloman and Prince Ali.
Dixon hit four 3-pointers to lead the Tigers while Malik Monk finished with 13 points and Ben Smith added 10. Jake Caudle and Tyler Robinson had nine points each for the Tigers.
Parkview guard Autry Acord led all players with 20 points, but almost all of the Vikings’ points came from the perimeter as the Tigers defense gave Parkview little opportunity to score inside.
“One of the the things we emphasize is protecting the paint,” said Bentonville coach Jason McMahan. “Our big guys did a good job inside and we did a good job on the perimeter. It almost felt like the ball was not even getting inside.”
Parkview cut Bentonville’s lead to 25-20 early in the second half, but the Tigers closed out the third quarter with a 13-0 run for a 38-20 lead. Monk and Dixon both hit 3-pointers to help push Bentonville to the 18-point lead.
“When we move it, we are a good shooting team,” McMahan said. “Tyrik shot it really good today. When we shoot it oft one pass, it’s not as good. When we were moving it, a high percentage of shots went down.”
Parkview coach Bill Brown said Bentonville’s balance and depth was the difterence in the game.
“We didn’t have a good day of execution,” Brown said. “We didn’t protect the ball well enough. We had it to a fi ve-point game,and then boom, boom, boom, and it was back to a 10-point game. It was a very eye-opening experience. It was the first time that we have been manhandled in regard to our oft ense.”
McMahan said the Tigers will face another quality opponent in today’s semifi nals.
“That is why we come to this tournament, to play good competition,” McMahan said. “Major test with Sagemont or West Memphis.”
Sports, Pages 7 on 12/27/2013