PREP BASKETBALL

NWA Prep Basketball Report

Bergman coach Bo Martin said the 3A-1 Conference regular-season championship is important to his team because it has been years since the Panthers accomplished that feat.

Bergman (23-4, 9-0) can clinch the league title tonight -- one week before the regular season ends -- with a win at home over a Greenland team that is winless in conference play. The Panthers enter the game with a three-game lead in the 3A-1 standings over Valley Springs, Elkins and Lincoln.

"They've done a good job all year long of stepping up and playing well in big games," Martin said of his team, which extended its win streak to nine games with a 69-56 win Tuesday over Green Forest. "Now they want to finish the job and take care of business."

Bergman's success lies in its balanced scoring and not relying on a particular player to do all the scoring. While senior post Elijah Royce has produced numerous double-doubles throughout his career, others have taken their turns at being the Panthers' scoring leader this season.

Asher Fultz had a 31-point performance recently in a win over Elkins, while Walker Patton hit nine 3-pointers and finished with 28 points in Tuesday's win over Green Forest. Anthony Hodge has also helped out with a 23-point outing in a recent game.

"We've been consistent in scoring from a lot of different ways," Martin said. "It just depends on the matchups we have in any particular game. They take turns on who is going to have the good night, but the best nights are when two or three of them are shooting well."

-- Henry Apple

• @NWAHenry

FARMINGTON

Lady Cardinals display diversity

The last two games provide prime examples why opponents have difficulties in defending the Lady Cardinals.

Farmington won 66-52 at Prairie Grove behind senior guard Trinity Johnson, who scored 24 points and made four of the team's seven 3-pointers. On Tuesday, senior forward Tori Kersey dominated inside while leading Farmington to a 59-53 victory over Shiloh Christian.

Kersey scored 23 points while routinely beating defenders down the court and scoring with aggressive moves to the basket. Kersey received outside help from Johnson and Carson Dillard, who made consecutive 3-pointers in the second half and finished with 11 points.

The ability to score inside and outside makes Farmington (15-4, 7-2) a threat in postseason play a year after the Lady Cardinals advanced to the state championship game in Class 4A before it was canceled by covid-19 concerns.

"We've got to be able to score in diverse ways," Farmington coach Brad Johnson said. "We do have the ability to score inside and everybody knows about our 3-point shooting. We really want to beat teams inside-out. We're at our best when the ball is touching the paint in transition with dribble-drives and cuts. That frees up our shooters a lot."

Gravette will attempt to contain Farmington at home tonight when the teams continue 4A-1 Conference play.

FAYETTEVILLE

Bulldogs win another close one

Close games have become the norm lately for the Fayetteville Bulldogs.

Four days after winning 67-65 on a buzzer-beat at Bentonville West, Fayetteville won 62-61 in four overtimes over Rogers Tuesday at Bulldog Arena. CJ Williams provided the winning margin at Bentonville West when he drove the baseline and made a layup as time expired.

On Tuesday, Landon Glasper scored 25 points and Elliot Yates added some big plays off the bench for the Bulldogs. Fayetteville coach Brad Stamps was also proud of his team's defensive effort in critical situations.

"At the end of regulation and in all four overtimes, we got defensive stops," Stamps said. "I was proud of that."

Stamps was also pleased with the effort from Yates, a junior who's played little at the varsity level.

"Elliot came off the bench and made a 3-pointer and a key floater when we needed points," Stamps said. "He made a huge contribution and I'm really proud for him in the way he played."

The two wins kept Fayetteville (16-4, 7-2) in second place heading into tonight's 6A-West Conference game at Fort Smith Southside. A road win could provide added momentum for Fayetteville heading into Tuesday's showdown with league-leading Bentonville at Bulldog Arena.

"In this league, you can not look in the rearview mirror or too far ahead," Stamps said. "All our energy is on Southside and in putting four quarters together to win that game."

-- Rick Fires • @NWARick

LIFE WAY CHRISTIAN

Moseley reaches scoring milestone

Add Abby Moseley to the list of high school basketball players who have reached career scoring milestones this season.

The Life Way Christian senior surpassed the 1,500-point career scoring mark during a recent 2A-4 Conference game at Decatur. Moseley entered the game with 1,499 points, and it didn't take long to surpass the mark as drove into the lane and hit a layup on the Lady Warriors' opening possession.

She finished that game with 12 points as Life Way (15-7 overall, 7-3 2A-1 Conference) rolled to a 57-19 victory.

"She didn't know what she had done," Lady Warrior coach Peter Ryan said. "We finally talked about it after the game. She was excited, but she was also sort of bashful about it. That's the type of character she has. She didn't puff her chest out."

Ryan said Moseley will get a basketball once the season is over with her final career point total listed on it. In the meantime, she is averaging 19.3 points per game to lead Life Way, which is currently tied for second with Yellville-Summit in the 2A-4 Conference.

Those two teams will play each other twice before the regular season ends next week, including tonight's game in Centerton.

"Abby does everything we ask her to do," Ryan said. "It's hard for her to be a player that just takes over the game because she always wants to put the team first. She's just a delight to coach."

-- Henry Apple

• @NWAHenry

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