The undefeated sixth-ranked 7A school in the state defeated the state’s fifth-ranked one as Bentonville defeated the ’Hawks on the Pea Ridge home court 62-44.
“Well, we lost to a good team,” head coach Charley Clark remarked, “and they did a good job showing up our deficiencies. While we played hard, they played much more physically and we have to be able to deal with that kind of play further down the road. We have some work to do.”
The biggest factor in the game was the decided edge Bentonville had in turnover ration. The ’Hawks turned the ball over 22 times with the visiting Tigers losing the ball on just eight occasions. The Tigers’ tall front court led by 6’8” large-school all-stater Nick Smith made it difficult to make entry passes.
While the ’Hawks had some success rebounding the ball, shooting percentages were down. The exception to that was the ’Hawks’ excellent nine of 11 free throw shooting.
The ’Hawks had the initial lead in the game with Jacob Hall draining a 3-pointer in the opening moments to a 3-0 lead. The Tigers countered with a lay-up but Isaac Mangrum made a nifty move to get off a 7-foot jumper to restore the 3-point edge.
Bentonville got a lay-up moments later but then took the lead after the ’Hawks turned the ball over which led to a 3-point play by the visitors. Another ’Hawk turnover led to another bucket and the Tigers assumed a wider lead with three basketswithin a 45-second time frame.
Mangrum again scored up close but it wasn’t enough as Bentonville led 14-7 with 2:45 left in the first period.
Evan Tillman stopped the run with a trey and Nick Deleon added a short jumper but Bentonville rattled off four field goals in the period’s final 90 seconds. The Bentonville surge was aided by two more ’Hawk turnovers and the first quarter ended with the Tigers in control 23-12.
Hall fired in a 3-pointer to begin the second quarter but the ’Hawks wouldn’t sink another field goal until Hall sank a trey in the half’s final minute. Six turnovers on the ’Hawks gave the Tigers extra shots which they took advantage of to lead the home boys 32-17 by the 3-minute mark. Levi Pitts four-forfour free thrown performance was all the other offense the ’Hawks could generate as they fell behind 34-22 headed into intermission. One of the game’s highlights for Pea Ridge fans occurred in the quarter’s final seconds when Logan Rose went up to block the Tigers’ Smith’s shot under the basket, an experience Smith rarely, if ever, has to suffer.
For the third straight quarter, Hall opened the scoring for both sides by ripping a 3-pointer.
Bentonville answered with a lay-up and free throw with a ’Hawk turnover leading to another score. After Mangrum scored from underneath, the Tigers scored 7 straight points, aided by a pair of turnovers. The flurry of ’Hawk misfortune left Bentonville on top 46-27 midway in the third quarter.
Hall canned another trey atthe 3-minute mark with the senior sharpshooter dropping another in the final minute. The Tigers scored three field goals in the final minutes while the ’Hawks committed three more turnovers as Bentonville went into the final period holding a comfortable 53-33 lead.
The ’Hawks had a better final period, outscoring their guests 11-9 but still suffering from turnovers as the whistles were blown for violations four more times. Pitts had an accurate jump shot from 7 feet with Rose adding a bucket on a steal and lay-up with 3 minutes left in the game. Pitts had four more chances from the free throw line with the senior speedster again canning all four, making him eight-for-eight in the contest.
Mangrum scored once more in the paint with Shepherd’s free throw in the game’s final seconds being the last score from either side.
Hall led the team with 18 followed by Pitts with 10, Mangrum with 8, Tillman 3, Deleon 2, Rose 2 and Shepherd 1.
The Hawks begin play today in Washburn, Mo., in the Southwest Holiday Classic. They play Cassville, Mo., in the first round with games to follow over the next two days. The ’Hawks are seeded third behind No. 1 seed Billings, Mo., with Hollister, Mo., holding the No. 2 seed.
The ’Hawks will play at home Jan. 4, hosting a conference game with Berryville. The Bobcats defeated the ’Hawks twice last season but are off to a rocky start this season.
Sports, Pages 7 on 12/26/2012