FAYETTEVILLE -- "Purple Rain" blasted over the speakers after Friday night's game. No song could have been more appropriate after Fayetteville's Purple'Dogs rained down on Springdale Har-Ber.
The Bulldogs exploded out of the gate and never were threatened in a 76-51 romp that completed a perfect first-half run through the 6A-West Conference.
"Three big wins this week," said Fayetteville coach Brad Stamps. "Started off with Heritage, then Bentonville the next night and finished it off tonight. Very tough to play three games in a week. I give the credit to the kids for being resilient, giving it everything they had and finishing off the week the right way."
The Purple'Dogs (15-4, 7-0 6A-West) turned a close game early in a rout by the time the first quarter ended. With senior Landon Glasper leading the way, Fayetteville ran off 17 straight points to turn an 8-7 lead into a 25-7 lead by the end of the quarter.
Glasper, who scored a game-high 24 points, had 11 in the first quarter including three three-pointers, the last carrying ever more significance as it pushed him over the 1,000-point mark for his career.
"We knew coming into this game that it was going to be a big game," said the only senior starter for the Bulldogs. "Going into the second half of the season, this feels good to come out of this with a win.
"Our fans, they made me feel better. They gave me a lot of hype tonight and it made me want to play good tonight."
Stamps credited his team's defensive intensity early for helping fuel the quick start. Fayetteville allowed just 17 points in the first half and rolled into the locker room with a 41-17 lead.
Fayetteville also got another big game from sophomore Ornette Gains, one of three sophomores in the Bulldogs' starting lineup. Gaines hit a pair of three-pointers in the first quarter and finished with 19 points.
[GALLERY: Click here for more photos » nwaonline.com/129hbfhs/]
Har-Ber (15-4, 6-2) finally got its offensive going in the second half behind Miles Rolfe, who scored 23 points for the Wildcats. But the huge deficit was too much to overcome over the final 16 minutes. Nate Kingsbury finished with 13 points for Har-Ber.
The Wildcats also played without one of their top scorers in Cameron Maines, who was injured on a highlight-reel layup in the second quarter and never returned.
Fayetteville ends the first half of conference play with a perfect slate and will host Bentonville West on Tuesday to start the second half.
Stamps also praised the large crowd on hand for Friday's game.
"I told these kids they deserved this, an atmosphere like this" said Stamps. "Har-Ber turned out, our kids turned out and that's what it's all about. This is what high school basketball is all about, that's what makes it fun."
Har-Ber will be on the road Tuesday at Bentonville.
Fayetteville’s Landon Glasper (3) drives to the basket Friday while being defended by Springdale Har-Ber’s Miles Rolfe (0) during the Bulldogs’ 76-51 victory over the Wildcats at Bulldog Arena in Fayetteville. More photos are available at arkansasonline.com/129hbfhs/. (Special to the NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Beach)