Bentonville starts fast, finishes faster

VAN BUREN -- What a difference seven weeks have made for Bentonville High's boys. The Tigers, who limped into Christmas break with a 2-7 record, won for the 10th time in 12 games and did in convincing fashion with a 61-35 rout of Van Buren during 7A-West Conference basketball action Tuesday night in Clair Bates Arena. Bentonville (12-9, 8-1), playing its second game without senior guard Aaron Estrada, led 30-10 after the first 11 minutes, then used a 14-0 run to build their biggest lead, 44-17, on Jordan Hemphill's three-point play with 3 minutes, 27 seconds left in third quarter. "I don't think our team ever lost faith in that we could be a good team," Bentonville coach Jason McMahan said. "We were battling through a lot of junk with the injuries we had. We had a lot of changes we had to make, and our guys just stuck to it. "I think our character is really high, and we're able to play like this right now." Hemphill, the Tigers' leading scorer in 7A-West play, set the tone with seven points in the first quarter as Bentonville jumped out to a 17-7 lead. After a quick trade of 3-pointers by both teams, Bentonville ran off 10 unanswered points for a 30-10 cushion on a 3-pointer by Trey Costantini -- who started instead of Estrada, who has a sprained ankle -- with 5:06 before halftime. Van Buren (13-6, 6-3), which had won six straight league games after an 0-2 start, scored the last five to make it 30-15 at halftime, then picked up a Jordan West bucket to pull within 13. Bentonville, however, took the Pointers out of the game with its 14-0 run and never let Van Buren within 18 again. "Bentonville was on its game, and I think they're getting better and better," Van Buren coach Austin Trembley said. "It was pretty hard for us to get Hemphill stopped in transition. He had a full head of steam and got their offense going and clicking. "They do such a good job of keeping the ball moving. Hemphill's coming at you at 1,000 miles per hour, then the ball's just a hot potato. They can all shoot it, and we didn't have the sense or urgency that is needed for defensive transition." Michael Shanks had 11 points in the third quarter and finished with 16, and Hemphill added a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds for Bentonvlle, which hosts Springdale Har-Ber in a battle for sole possession of first place in the 7A-standings Friday night. West was the only Van Buren player in double figures with 18.

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BENTONVILLE STARTS FAST, FINISHES FASTER

HENRY APPLE

NWA Democrat Gazette | 2/8/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Bentonville Athletics