NORTH LITTLE ROCK 57,
BENTONVILLE 42
CONWAY -- North Little Rock lost one of the nation's top juniors during the offseason, but on Saturday, the Charging Wildcats showed they have plenty left in their arsenal.
Senior forward Kylon McCollough scored 15 points to lead three North Little Rock players in double figures as they shut down Bentonville 57-42 during the John Stanton Classic at Buzz Bolding Arena.
Senior forward Collin Moore had 14 points and 9 rebounds and junior guard Mekhai Washington finished with 10 points and 5 rebounds for the Charging Wildcats, who've adjusted well since losing standout Moses Moody last summer. Moody, a highly recruited 6-5 guard, transferred to national powerhouse Montverde Academy (Fla.) after leading North Little Rock to the Class 7A state title last season. However, North Little Rock has developed more depth this year according to Coach Johnny Rice to help atone for Moody's departure.
"Our bench has gotten stronger, and that's been a big difference for us," Rice said. "That's actually become a strength of ours. This is my seventh year as head coach, and we're probably playing more guys. We're playing nine, sometimes 10.
"We're not putting somebody in that's not helping us. So that's really been a big advantage for us."
Against Bentonville, eight players scored for North Little Rock (6-1), which has won five games in a row since dropping a 68-65 decision to Wright (La.), on Nov. 24.
Senior guard Connor Deffebaugh scored 14 points for Bentonville (5-2), which was coming off a 60-52 victory over Fort Smith Southside less than 20 hours earlier. Senior forward Michael Shanks had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Tigers.
"We just ran out of gas," Bentonville Coach Dick Rippee. "We had a pretty hard-fought game with Southside, and we played seven, sometimes eight guys. But I think our depth became a factor, especially in the second half.
"We've got some guys playing a lot of minutes, and I think we just got a little tired."
Bentonville got out of the gates quickly and led 8-2 after Deffebaugh's three-pointer with 5:44 left in the first quarter. McCollough answered with a three-pointer moments later to start a 12-2, quarter-ending run for North Little Rock. Moore picked up his second foul and was forced to sit for the remainder of the half. But McCollough continued to pick up the slack, scoring 11 points in the second quarter, including a 23-footer with 1:01 to go, to help North Little Rock grab a 27-23 halftime lead.
Moore returned at the start of the third quarter and had a short basket, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in the first 6 minutes to help North Little Rock build a 36-27 lead. Moore eventually picked up his third foul with 2:35 remaining in the quarter, and Bentonville was able to trim the deficit to six (40-34) by the start of the fourth quarter. That was as close as the Tigers would get.
North Little Rock scored nine of the first 13 points of the fourth quarter and continued to stretch its lead for the remainder of the game.
The Charging Wildcats finished 23-of-47 shooting and outrebounded Bentonville 28-23. The Tigers finished 18 of 41 (43.9 percent) from the floor.
Sports on 12/16/2018