BENTONVILLE -- When Bentonville's senior boys display their offensive balance, good things tend to happen for the Tigers.
Jaylen Lee had 18 points to lead three players in double figures Tuesday night as Bentonville went through the first half of 6A-West Conference play unscathed with a 63-48 victory over rival Bentonville West in Tiger Arena.
The win, coupled with Springdale Har-Ber's victory over Fayetteville, gives the Tigers (13-1, 7-0) a two-game cushion over those two teams in the league standings.
"Last week, we were disappointed with our offensive production," Bentonville Coach Dick Rippee said. "And that was team-wise, not disappointed in any one individual. We went back to some basic things to try to help our guys, and we shared the ball really well. We were able to get contributions from a lot of guys.
"Owen Dehrmann was great, coming off the bench and hitting some big shots. Hayden Shanks is just slippery around the basket, and Jaylen Lee did a great job running the show. Our offense was a lot better than it was last week."
Shanks, who finished with 14 points, was instrumental in a 10-0 Bentonville run in the first quarter after the first 4 minutes finished in a 5-5 deadlock, with Harrison Hicks and West's Tucker Anderson doing the scoring. Shanks broke the tie with a free throw at the 3:47 mark, then added two more buckets inside as the Tigers built a 15-5 lead.
West (11-8, 4-3), which had a four-game win streak snapped, managed to get within 19-12 after Anderson hit his second three-pointer with 6 minutes before halftime, but the Wolverines couldn't get any closer than that. Bentonville went on to extend its lead to a 33-20 halftime margin, thanks to Dehrmann's putback before the buzzer, and led by as 15 points twice in the third quarter.
"We can talk about offense all we want, but I thought our defense was pretty good," Rippee said. "That's a very talented offensive team with a lot of weapons over there, and I thought we defended pretty good.
"Tucker got going in the first half for them, and he's a handful. Riley Buccino is a handful, and that was a great matchup with him and Hayden. I've got a lot of respect for their team."
Dehrmann finished with 15 points, including a key pair of three-pointers in the second half after Bentonville's offense slowed down midway in the third quarter and allowed West to get within eight on a pair of occasions. Tucker Bowman had 16 points to lead the Wolverines, while Anderson and Buccino each added 11.
Girls
Bentonville 82, Bentonville West 42
Maryam Dauda became Bentonville's career scoring leader as the Lady Tigers rolled to a victory over West.
Dauda, the 6-foot-6 Baylor signee, hit a three-pointer near the top of the key midway through the third quarter to give her 1,270 career points, surpassing the 1,268 scored by Bekkah Boyce, who did it with the Lady Tigers from 1996-98.
Bentonville (11-2, 5-0) already had a 47-26 halftime lead, then Dauda's three-pointer was part of a 23-2 run that extended the Lady Tigers' lead to a 70-28 margin.
Dauda finished with 16 points to lead four Bentonville players in double figures, followed by Riley Hayes with 15 -- all on three-pointers -- Gracie Eaves with 13 and Jada Brown with 11. Ashley Rangel and Savannah Rangel each had 10 for West (6-10, 3-4).
Henry Apple can be reached at happle@nwadg.com or on Twitter @NWAHenry.