West boys victorious in home opener

CENTERTON -- It was a week before Christmas, and Bentonville West's boys finally were able to play their home opener. Nobody on the Wolverines' roster enjoyed it more than Dawson Bailey -- for the first half, anyway. The guard hit six 3-pointers and scored 22 of his 24 points before intermission as West enjoyed a 61-48 nonconference victory over Tulsa (Okla.) Bishop in Wolverine Arena. Bailey needed one more 3-pointer to tie the school record set by Collier Blackburn, but it never materialized. His only attempt in the second half fell short, and he only managed to get two free throws before he exited the game. "My teammates were giving me good passes, and I was just trying to knock down the shots for them," Bailey said. "It was really good to play in front of everybody, and I just played the best I could. "They started guarding me a little more in the second half, and I fouled the guy right after that. Then the second and third teams starting coming in. When they started playing me a little tighter, I just worked on getting others the ball." Bailey's only two-point basket was the one that gave West (6-4) the lead for good, and it sparked a 15-6 run that gave the Wolverines a 20-12 cushion after one quarter. After Bishop Kelley (4-5) picked up two free throws by Michael Pynn to start the second quarter, Austin Connor hit two free throws and Bailey hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give West its first double-digit lead, 28-16, with with 4 minutes, 34 seconds before halftime. The Wolverines never led their advantage drop below 10 points as Traven Hardiman's two layups made it a 42-27 game at halftime, and Bailey's two free throws gave West its biggest lead -- 58-36 -- to start the fourth quarter en route to its sixth victory in seven games. "People didn't realize how young we were this year," West coach Greg White said. "Dillon Bailey was the only player with varsity experience. For the rest of the roster, this was their 10th varsity game -- whether they are freshmen, sophomores, juniors or seniors. "I think trusting each other is the big thing. They're trusting the pass, trusting each other and sharing the ball more. At the beginning, everybody wanted to be the guy and nobody knew who the guy was. Now they realize it can be a different guy every night." Dillon Bailey was the only other Wolverine in double figures with 13 points, while Collin Morrison led Bishop Kelley with 19 points.

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Bentonville West High School Athletics

WEST BOYS VICTORIOUS IN HOME OPENER

HENRY APPLE

Arkansas Online | 12/21/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Bentonville West Athletics