BENTONVILLE -- Rogers Heritage's boys controlled the offensive pace Tuesday night, but what they couldn't dictate was Bentonville High's ability to grab offensive rebounds when needed.
The Tigers picked up some vital second-chance points and used their 3-point shooting to pull away in the fourth quarter and take a 49-34 victory over the War Eagles in the final of the season in Tiger Arena.
Bentonville High 49, Rogers Heritage 34
Heritage^4^7^11^12^—^34
Bentonville^11^9^9^20^—^49
Heritage (): Stanley 16, Olsen 8, Lowrey 4, Kenny 2, Giesen 2, Cooper 2.
Bentonville (15-10, 11-2): Hemphill 14, Shanks 8, Akbar 8, Hutchinson 6, Blackmon 6, Keliiliki 3, Costantini 2, Gregg 2.
Bentonville High 74, Rogers Heritage 33
Heritage^6^8^11^8^—^33
Bentonville^27^17^20^10^—^74
Heritage (6-20, 0-13): Menke 8, Combs 7, Richardson 6, Thompson 4, Rohrbough 2, Cook 2, Anderson-Mills 2, Kinnamon 1, Lakis 1.
Bentonville (12-14, 5-8): Clark 14, Hargus 12, Hughes 11, Roberts 10, Cochran 6, Clifton 4, Hernandez 4, Skidmore 3, Wagner 2, Kash 2, Spear 2, Shade 2, Palasak 1.
"We got killed on the boards, plain and simple," Heritage coach Tom Olsen said. "They got nine offensive boards and we had one. They had 40-something attempts from the field, and we had 34.
"The percentages were similar, but they had several more attempts and made several more 3-point shots. We cracked open, while they stayed the course."
Bentonville (15-10, 11-2 7A-West) led 29-22 after three quarters, and that was trimmed when Nick Lowery scored 26 seconds left into the fourth quarter. Heritage (15-11, 7-6), however, managed only a Seth Stanley 3-pointer over the next 6 minutes.
That's when the Tigers warmed up from 3-point range. Michael Shanks hit two from beyond the arc and Alihi Keliiliki added another as part of a 10-0 run that made it a 39-24 game with 4 minutes, 27 seconds remaining. Bentonville then followed Stanley's 3-pointer with six more points, including a 3-pointer by Asa Hutchinson IV that stretched the lead to 45-27 with 2:14 on the clock.
"I thought our defense was what we wanted it all night," Bentonville coach Jason McMahan said. "We had some out-of-rhythm offensive stuff going on, but I was proud. Michael Shanks hit a couple of big shots for us, and Jordan Hemphill got a couple of key dribble penetrations that got us some separation.
"That big 3 by Alihi Keliiliki put a big gap and cause coach Olsen to call time. Our defense was locked in all night and had great position. I really liked it. Every pass was contested, every shoulder turn was contested and we limited them to one shot."
Hemphill had 14 points and was the only player in double figures for Bentonville, which kept its chances of a top seed alive with the win. Stanley finished with 16 for Heritage, which fell into a tie with Fayetteville for fourth place in the league standings with a loss.
Girls
Bentonville High 74, Rogers Heritage 33
Bentonville's three seniors celebrated their last home game by scoring in double figures, and the Lady Tigers clinched a state tournament berth with a rout of Heritage.
Krista Clark had 14 points to lead Bentonville (12-14, 5-8), which jumped out to a 27-3 lead in the first quarter, while Lauren Hargus had 12 and Abby Roberts added 10. Sophomore Avery Hughes gave the Lady Tigers a fourth player in double figures with 11.
Brooke Menke led Heritage (6-20, 0-13) with eight points.
Sports on 02/22/2017