NEOSHO, Mo. -- There was a point Saturday night when Bentonville High's boys had missed 19 consecutive 3-point attempts.
The next four attempts from beyond the arc, however, made a difference for the Tigers. Bentonville used those long-range shots to outscore Neosho 34-11 over the final 14 minutes and win the Black Bracket championship for the second straight year with a 53-39 victory at the 65th annual Neosho Holiday Classic.
"We talked as a group with the coaching staff, then with the team," Bentonville coach Dick Rippee said. "We weren't taking bad shots; they just weren't going in. Sometimes, as we told them when you're struggling at the free-throw line or whatever, you just have to step up, be a man about it and play with confidence."
Bentonville (9-3) hit just one of 15 shots from 3-point range in the first half and trailed 24-19 at halftime, then missed their first six tries from beyond the arc in the third quarter. Neosho (7-4), meanwhile, picked up a pair of buckets from Grant Baslee and extended its lead to a 28-19 margin, but the Wildcats went the next 8 minutes without a field goal.
The Tigers finally broke their 3-point doldrums when Thane Spencer hit one as part of a 9-0 run that tied the game at 28 before Neosho regained the lead on a Chase Flynn free throw with 19 seconds left in the third quarter. Hayden Shanks then opened the fourth quarter with three consecutive 3-pointers as part of a 13-0 run that gave Bentonville a 41-31 lead.
"Obviously, Hayden Shanks gave us a big, big lift," Rippee said. "When he got that first shot down and got us the lead, our guys rallied around that. Our guys just kept working, kept grinding and kept improving.
"Cooper Smith was instrumental in our defense effort. He has such great energy on the ball and did such a great job on 32 (Landon Austin). That guy is a great player, and Coop made him earn some stuff."
Colton Simmons finished with 20 points to lead the Tigers, including nine points in the final 2½ minutes to secure the win, while Shanks finished with 13, 11 of those in the fourth quarter. Landon Austin had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead Neosho, while Flynn also had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Bentonville 13 6 9 25 -- 53
Neosho 12 12 5 10 -- 39
Bentonville (9-3): Simmons 20, Shanks 13, Spencer 9, Smith 6, Hicks 4, Price 1.
Neosho (7-4): Austin 15, Flynn 11, Baslee 8, Cook 3, Gammons 2.
West Memphis 58, Bentonville West 49
Auburn signee Chris Moore had 28 points and 10 rebounds as West Memphis used a 16-0 run to close out the first half and held off Bentonville West to capture the Gold Division championship for the second straight year.
The Wolverines (5-5) had a 15-11 lead after one quarter and opened the second quarter with a 10-2 run for a 25-13 cushion after Jonas Higson's bucket with 4:54 before halftime. West Memphis (10-3), however, did the rest of the scoring, and Moore capped the Blue Devils' run with a dunk for a 29-25 halftime cushion.
"When you have a guy of that caliber, I think everybody -- our guys and the officials -- just got caught up watching him," West coach Greg White said. "He's one of my favorite high school players ever, but there's not a lot you can do with him. We didn't have to play perfect, but we needed some breaks and never got any.
"If I could have told you in August we would be 5-5 and lost by single digits to West Memphis, Jonesboro, Conway, Little Rock Central and Little Rock Parkview, we would have taken it. But tonight's on me; I put them in a bad spot. But they'll answer the bell, come back and get ready for conference."
West made a comeback attempt and pulled within 38-37 after a Dillon Bailey 3-pointer with 4:23 left in the third quarter, but the Wolverines never did get that close again. West Memphis went on to take a 46-42 cushion into the fourth quarter and led by as many as 10 when Moore's two free throws made it 54-44 midway through the fourth quarter.
Moore finished hitting 10 of 13 shots and 8 of 10 free throws and was the only West Memphis player in double figures. Bailey finished with 19 and Riley Buccino added 13 for West, which won't play again until the 6A-West Conference opener on Jan. 7 against Fayetteville.
West Memphis 11 18 17 12 -- 58
Bentonville West 15 10 17 7 -- 49
West Memphis (10-3): Moore 28, Warren 7, Hazley 7, Sykes 6, Mitchell 4, Hoard 4, Doolittle 2.
Bentonville West (5-5): Bailey 19, Buccino 13, Ruffner 8, White 5, Higson 2, Allen 2.
Sports on 12/29/2019