Tigers' second-half rally enough to sink Wolverines

The little guys came up with the big buckets when Bentonville High's boys needed them Friday night. Guards Cooper Smith and Thane Spencer sneaked inside to put their team ahead to stay as the Tigers claimed a 56-47 win over Bentonville West during 6A-West Conference play in Wolverine Arena. Smith, a 5-foot-9 sophomore, broke a 45-45 tie when he scored inside with 2 minutes, 34 seconds remaining, despite being fouled by Jonas Higson on the play. Spencer, a 5-10 junior, added another layup at the 2:08 mark, then Sawyer Price and Smith each hit two free throws and gave Bentonville (13-6, 4-3) a 53-45 lead with 44 seconds remaining. "Our guys just did a good job of making that extra pass," Bentonville coach Dick Rippee said. "We had a couple of guys that picked up some backdoors. Hayden Shanks got a backdoor, and Coop got one. "We tell our guys all the time that our best player is our team. We really don't need one guy to do everything for us. It's just a combination of all our guys, and I thought our team played really well, especially in the second half." West (8-9, 3-4) had a 30-20 lead on a Dalton McDonald bucket late in the first half and owned a 40-31 lead after Luke Allen's 3-pointer with 3:36 left in the third quarter. The Wolverines, however, went the next 11 minutes without a field goal, and that cold spell gave Bentonville the opportunity to make a comeback. The Tigers trimmed it to a 42-39 margin on a 3-pointer by Colton Simmons, who missed a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the third quarter. Bentonville then started the fourth quarter with buckets by Abel Hutchinson and Brayden Freeman and took a 43-42 lead, its first since midway through the first quarter. "I know everybody is going to talk about our offense, but defensively we were able to get some stops," Rippee said. "We played really tough against a good offensive team that does some things that's hard to defend. "Any time we can get a win in their gym, it's a nice feeling for us and our guys -- in particular, our seniors who will never come in here and play again." Simmons finished with 17 points to lead Bentonville, while Freeman added 13. Kade Ruffner had a trio of West players in double figures with 13 points, followed by Dillon Bailey with 13 and McDonald with 10. Bentonville 8 18 13 17 -- 56 Bentonville West 15 15 12 5 -- 47 Bentonville (13-6, 4-3): Simmons 17, Freeman 13, Spencer 6, Hutchinson 5, Shanks 5, Smith 4, Hicks 3, Price 3. Bentonville West (8-9, 3-4): Ruffner 13, Bailey 12, McDonald 10, Allen 6, Buccino 5, Peterson 1.

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Bentonville West High School Athletics

TIGERS' SECOND-HALF RALLY ENOUGH TO SINK WOLVERINES

HENRY APPLE

Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette | 2/1/2020

PHOTO CREDIT: Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette