Wolverines, Pointers set for rematch

Just seven days after meeting each other in the Neosho (Mo.) Holiday Classic, Van Buren and Bentonville West will square off again in the 7A-West Conference opener for both teams tonight in Van Buren. Van Buren (9-4) won last week's meeting 53-51 on Mehki Burnett's bucket off an inbound pass with 1.6 seconds left and went on to win three out of four games, while West (10-3) finished the tournament with a 2-2 mark. Presley Kindrix had 16 points and Burnett 16 for the Pointers in that game, while West was led by Collier Blackburn with 14 points and Gabe Hornsby with 13. While the outcome could be a similar one tonight, both teams are expected to show some new wrinkles their respective coaches saved for this game. "The big thing about last week's game is that we stayed pretty vanilla," West coach Greg White said. "We didn't want to totally tip our hat about everything we did, but we wanted to get a good look at them, especially with the new kid, and see what they could do. "Van Buren is a tough place to play. We just have to come up with a better plan than we did last week and hope we execute." Van Buren coach Austin Trembley said his team was still in a growing process during the Neosho tournament and took some steps in the right direction. It also let him see that his expectations of West were almost everything he expected out of the Wolverines. "They are physical," Trembley said. "They play tough and they are hard to score on. Greg threw a couple of different defenses that I didn't expect, and I asked him later on if he was trying to make my preparation for this game even harder. He's good at it, and I'm expecting another tough, hard-fought game this time."

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WOLVERINES, POINTERS SET FOR REMATCH

HENRY APPLE

Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette | 1/5/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Bentonville West High School Athletics