Monk's 33 sets shot at 'No. 1' goal

CABOT -- Malik Monk has hit several big shots for Bentonville.

Saturday in the Class 7A boys semifinal game at Panther Arena, he hit his biggest.

Monk, who finished with 33 points, hit a three-pointer with 1:13 remaining in overtime to give Bentonville a 57-54 lead, a lead the Tigers would never relinquish in a 63-57 overtime victory over Van Buren. The University of Kentucky signee scored 11 points in overtime to lift the Tigers to their second consecutive Class 7A boys state championship game.

"It's No. 1. We're going to the state finals for the second time in Bentonville history," Monk said. "Bentonville has never won state, so we're trying to do that. This is No. 1."

"And next week will be bigger," said Bentonville Coach Jason McMahan, referring to the state championship game at Bank of the Ozarks Arena in Hot Springs.

Monk, the No. 1 shooting guard in the country according to ESPN, made five three-pointers Saturday. He is averaging more than 28 points this season for Bentonville, the No. 2 seed from the 7A-West Conference.

Van Buren pulled within 59-57 on Beau Beckner's layup with 30.8 seconds left, but Monk sealed the victory with two free throws with 16.2 seconds left.

The Pointers, who won the 7A/6A-Central Conference championship, were led by Mitchell Smith with 34 points. Smith, who has signed with Missouri, fouled out with 1:48 left in overtime as he attempted to block Jordan Hemphill's shot.

"It was a great block. That's what I saw," Van Buren Coach Randy Loyd said. "He [Smith] knows it. The official knows it, too. Don't tell me, I don't want to hear that now. It was the biggest call of the night."

The game was tied at 46-46 with 1:10 left in the fourth quarter before Jaylynn Dye's layup gave the Pointers a 48-46 lead. Monk missed a three-point attempt, but Trey Costantini got the offensive rebound, and Monk's layup tied the game at 48-48 with less than a minute left.

Van Buren had an opportunity to win the game, but Beckner missed a layup with two seconds left in regulation, sending the game to overtime.

Hemphill scored 17 points for the Tigers as their only other scorer with at least 10 points.

Smith scored 21 of Van Buren's 23 points in the first half as the Pointers led 23-18 at halftime.

Beckner finished with 11 points for the Pointers, while Dye added nine.

Bentonville lost to North Little Rock in last year's Class 7A state final in front of a standing-room only crowd. Monk has one more high school game left and the McDonald's All-American Game on March 30 before heading to Kentucky, but he's focused on getting the Tigers a state championship.

"We learned a lot from last year," Monk said. "We have to come out strong and execute in practice. If we execute the game plan, I think we'll come out on top this time."

photo credit: Melissa Gerrits
