Bentonville blows past Monett with second-half outburst

In this March 2, 2019 file photo, Bentonville High School head coach Dick Rippee talks to his players during a basketball game at Bentonville West High School in Centerton.
In this March 2, 2019 file photo, Bentonville High School head coach Dick Rippee talks to his players during a basketball game at Bentonville West High School in Centerton.

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.

Huntsville 56, McDonald County, Mo. 38

Huntsville scored the game's first 15 points and was never seriously threatened en route to a Black Division victory over McDonald County in a game played in the Neosho Junior High gym.

The Eagles (9-3) led 30-11 at halftime and enjoyed their biggest lead when Hayden Dotson's two free throws made it a 33-11 game with 5:46 remaining in the third quarter. McDonald County (2-6) hit five 3-pointers and pulled within 44-34 on Cade Smith's 3-pointer with 3:37 remaining, but Huntsville hit 12 of 14 free throws down the stretch to secure the win.

Hunter Davidson led the Eagles with 17 points, while Dotson and Kent Mayes added 10 apiece. Mayes just missed a double-double as he had a team-high nine rebounds. Smith was the only Mustang player in double figures with 13.

Huntsville plays again at 1:30 p.m. today against host Neosho, which advanced with a 59-49 win over Lamar, Mo.

Bentonville West 85, Villa Angela St. Joseph (Ohio) 82 (2OT)

Dillon Bailey's layup with 46 seconds left in the second overtime broke an 82-82 deadlock and lifted Bentonville West to a win over a team that beat the Wolverines with a last-second shot 2 years ago.

The layup gave Bailey a school-record 40 points, breaking the single-game scoring record of 38 he set in West's season opener against Little Rock Parkview. West (4-4) also set a single-game team scoring record, breaking the previous mark of 77 set in a win over Fort Scott, Kan., in 2017.

Riley Bucchino added a free throw with 21.3 seconds left to close out the scoring, while Villa Angela St. Joseph -- a team out of Cleveland -- missed a pair of game-tying 3-point tries in the final seconds.

Bailey was 12 of 25 shooting and a perfect 14-of-14 from the free-throw line, including two free throws with 0.8 seconds left in the first overtime that tied the game at 76 and forced 4 more minutes. Bucchino was the only other West player in double figures with 14 points.

Jaden Hameed led the Vikings (4-4) with 37 points, followed by Jonah Wagg with 22 -- including the 15-footer that tied the game at 58 with 3.2 seconds left in regulation and forced the first time -- and Sean Johnson with 10.

West returns to action at 6:30 p.m. today against the winner of Thursday's late game between Joplin, Mo., and Memphis (Tenn.) Mitchell.

Preps Sports on 12/27/2019

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