Bentonville boys open up Conference with Win

BENTONVILLE -- The last time Bentonville High's boys had played on their home floor before Tuesday night, they trailed by 30 points after three quarters and suffered a 60-36 defeat to Fort Smith Northside three weeks ago. That was then. This is now. The Tigers scored 20 points over the first five minutes and led from start to finish as they opened 7A-West Conference play with a sounding 67-47 victory over Van Buren in Tiger Arena. "I think, one, we're starting to get people healthy," Bentonville coach Jason McMahan said. "Having Trey (Costantini) back helps, and Jordan (Hemphill) back, even better. "I think our team is learning. They're learning; they're getting tougher. They've learned not to give up on plays and finish plays out. I'm proud of that, and I think that's the difference. We played with a lot more continuity offensively and rhythm and timing. A lot of that is practice, plus getting guys back from football and back from injury." McMahan said the team "took the foot off the gas" after Asa Hutchinson drilled a pair of 3-pointers in a 24-second span and gave Bentonville (5-8, 1-0) a 17-6 lead midway through the first quarter. That allowed Van Buren (7-8, 0-2) to pull within 23-15 at the end of the quarter, and a Caleb Salisbury 3-pointer pulled the Pointers within 30-27 midway through the second quarter. Aaron Estrada, however, scored six of his eight points over the next 4 minutes, and a Hemphill three-point play with 3.7 seconds on the clock gave the Tigers a 39-29 halftime cushion. Hemphill, who finished with 17 points to lead Bentonville, added six more points with an Asa Hutchinson 3-pointer to give the Tigers a 48-31 lead, and it never dropped out of double digits again. "They pushed their lead to 10 at halftime, and we could never really cut into that," Van Buren coach Austin Trembley said. "We started running and jumping there to claw back into it, and it didn't bother them too much. "Jason is a really good coach, and they're executing. They shot the ball well, and you have to give them credit. We have a young group, and we have to get better." Hutchinson was the only other Bentonville player in double figures with 11. Presley Kindrix had 18 and Beau Beckner 14 to pace Van Buren.

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BENTONVILLE BOYS OPEN UP CONFERENCE WITH WIN

HENRY APPLE

Arkansas Online | 1/11/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Bentonville Athletics