BENTONVILLE -- The height advantage Bentonville High's boys enjoyed over Clarksville was so obvious that one might think the Tigers would continually work on their inside game Wednesday night.
Bentonville, however, preferred a long-range plan, and for good reason. The Tigers nailed a dozen 3-point shots in their first home game of the season and came away with an 88-40 victory during the opening day of the Crabtree Invitational.
Boys
Bentonville High 88, Clarksville 40
Clarksville^8^15^14^3^—^40
Bentonville^31^19^26^12^—^88
Clarksville (0-3): Hurley 20, Thomas 9, Patterson 5, Jackson 2, Lindsey 2, Rivera 2.
Bentonville (2-0): Hutchinson 16, Smith 14, Shanks 13, Deffebaugh 12, Baggett 9, Simmons 7, Cranna 6, Chambers 5, Casey 4, Bell 2.
At a glance
Crabtree Invitational
at Tiger Arena, Bentonville
Wednesday
Girls: Bentonville High 49, Huntsville 29
Boys: Bentonville High 88, Clarksville
Boys: Bryant , NWA Hornets
Girls: Bryant, Clarksville
Today
Girls: Bryant vs. Huntsville, 4 p.m.
Boys: Bryant vs. Clarksville, 5:15 p.m.
Girls: Bentonville High vs. Clarksville, 6:30 p.m.
Boys: Bentonville High vs. NWA Hornets, 7:45 p.m.
"What we try to do is run our stuff and get open looks," Bentonville coach Dick Rippee said. "Obviously, we shot really well, but we took good shots -- shots that we practice on a daily basis. That's always nice to see because you're always going to shoot better on stuff you practice.
"We did a great job of making that extra pass, and we have a lot of guys playing with confidence. That's always good to see."
Four different Bentonville players had a 3-pointer in the opening 5 minutes, then Michael Shanks hit his second one to give the Tigers a 20-6 cushion with 2 minutes, 42 seconds left in the first quarter. Bentonville closed out the first quarter with an 11-0 run, including a pair of dunks by Connor Deffebaugh, and enjoyed a 31-8 cushion.
The Tigers went on to lead by as much as a 50-18 margin before Clarksville (0-3) closed out the first half with five straight points. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Shanks and Max Chambers sparked a 10-0 run that gave Bentonville a 76-37 cushion and forced the running clock through the fourth quarter.
"The best thing about it is we're taking shots that we work on in practice," Rippee said. "A lot of times you see kids get out in a game and start doing things they don't practice. Our guys have been disciplined and they're believing in the things they are doing that give them those wide-open looks. That's always a positive."
Asa Hutchinson had 16 points to lead four Tigers in double figures, followed by Josh Smith with 14, Shanks with 13 and Deffebaugh with 12. Bob Hurley had 20 for Clarksville.
Bryant 78, NWA Hornets 59
Deron Canada had 22 points to lead Bryant past the Northwest Arkansas Hornets, a home-school team consisting of area players.
Sam Chumley and Khalen Robinson added 13 points apiece for Bryant. Aaron Sanders had 17 for the NWA Hornets, while Daniel Wenger chipped in 13.
Girls: Bentonville 49, Huntsville 29
Avery Hughes scored 13 of her game-high 18 points in the first half as Bentonville remained unbeaten with a win over Huntsville.
Fess Hawkins added 11 for the Lady Tigers (4-0), who led 17-7 after one quarter and strings of 11 straight points in the second quarter and 10 straight points in the third quarter to pull away from Huntsville (2-5)
Josie Sisk led Huntsville with 12 points.
Clarksville 58, Bryant 39
Kyerra Cowell had 14 points as Clarksville knocked off Bryant in the late girls game.
Grace Dougan added 13 for the Lady Panthers, who bolted out to an 18-7 lead in the first quarter. Lexie Taylor was the only Bryant player in double figures, finishing with 13.
Sports on 11/30/2017