NEOSHO, Mo. -- Dick Rippee said his Bentonville High boys looked just like a team that hadn't practiced in four days during the first half of Thursday's first-round game in the 65th annual Neosho Holiday Classic.

The second half was a different matter as the Tigers regained their poise and outscored Monett, Mo., 45-18 over the final 16 minutes for an impressive 67-45 Black Bracket victory in the Neosho High School gym

"Last year, it took us a quarter to get going. This year, it took us two quarters," Rippee said. "We had four days off. We flew home from Orlando on Sunday, then we had the mandatory three days off Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. We brought them in this morning for a shootaround and practice before we got on the bus to come here.

"It wasn't as a sign of disrespect for the team we were playing. That's just the way it was."

Bentonville (8-3) suffered a chilly 8 of 31 shooting in the first half, including a stretch of almost 7 minutes without a field goal after Hayden Shanks had hit a 3-pointer midway through the first quarter. The Tigers trailed 27-18 with 2 minutes left in the first half, but buckets by Cooper Smith and Harrison Hicks pulled Bentonville within five before halftime.

The Cubs then opened the second half with a bucket before five different Bentonville players scored in a 10-0 run, with Abel Hutchinson's bucket putting the Tigers ahead 31-29 with 4 minutes, 51 seconds left in the third quarter. Monett then tied the game at 32 on Cole McCullough's 3-pointer at the 3:12 mark, but Sawyer Price answered with a 3 of his own and started a 13-2 run to give Bentonville a 45-34 lead.

"In the second half, our defense was much better," Rippee said. "A lot of times, the defense gets going and the offense gets easier. We had more possessions, and we got them to speed up a little bit in the second half. That helped us instead of playing a methodical, slow game in the first half, and I thought our guys adjusted well."

Bentonville then blew the game open in the fourth quarter with a stretch of 14 unanswered points for a 61-37 cushion. That included eight by Colton Simmons with a putback dunk, a three-point play and a 3-pointer.

Simmons finished with 17 and Price 15 to lead Bentonville, which plays at 3:30 p.m. today against East Newton, Mo., which advanced with a 66-56 victory over Sapulpa, Okla. Trevon Price led Monett with 15, while Cole McCullough added 13.

Monett 11 16 7 11 -- 45

Bentonville 9 13 23 22 -- 67

Monett (3-7): Price 15, McCullough 13, Erwin 9, George 8.

Bentonville (7-3): Simmons 17, Price 15, Hutchinson 7, Spencer 6, Smith 6, Hicks 5, Shanks 5, Wilson 2, Krakau 2, King 2.
