SPRINGDALE -- Springdale Har-Ber struggled offensively in its win over crosstown rival Springdale High on Tuesday night.
It was a different story on Friday.
Senior Charlie Bockelman got the Wildcats going en route to a big 65-36 homecoming win over Bentonville West to remain atop the 6A-West Conference on Friday night in Wildcat Arena.
Bockelman scored 13 of his game-high 20 points in the first half to help Har-Ber (19-3, 10-1 6A-West) to a 40-17 halftime lead.
Har-Ber's lead ballooned to 30 to invoke the running clock in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter. The Wildcats maintained a one-game lead in the 6A-West on Rogers High, which pulled away from Springdale High late.
Wildcats coach Tommy Deffebaugh said his team rode solid defense again, but Bockelman came through offensively.
"We've been wanting him and waiting on him to have a night like this," said Deffebaugh, whose team ground out a 35-30 win earlier in the week. "At home under these conditions, it's homecoming night for basketball. We've been begging him. We want him to take his shot.
"We want him to be aggressive because he's got a good stroke. We told him, 'Hey, you're probably gonna have the lesser of the defensive players on you. We need you to take your shots when they're available and when you're open' and he did."
Bockelman hit a 3-point field goal, then converted a three-point play to help the Wildcats to an 18-7 lead after a quarter. He added two more 3-pointers late in the half as Har-Ber took a commanding 40-17 lead into halftime.
Jajuan Boyd chipped in 12 points, while Lawson Jenkins and Nick Buchanan added nine each.
Dylan Bailey was the only West player in double figures with 16.
Bentonville West 7 10 12 7 -- 36
Springdale Har-Ber 18 22 14 11 -- 65
Bentonville West (8-13, 3-8): Bailey 16, Peterson 6, Buccino 3, Harris 3, McDonald 2, Honeycutt 2, McGhee 2, Higson 2.
Springdale Har-Ber (19-3, 10-1): Bockelman 20, Boyd 12, Jenkins 9, Buchanan 9, Eckwood 5, Livingston 4, Peironi 2, Seawood 2, Oliger 2.
[GALLERY: Bentonville West vs Springdale Har-Ber basketball » https://www.nwaonline.com/215west/]
Bentonville 60, Fayetteville 56
The Tigers clinched a huge 6A-West win at the free-throw line down the stretch.
Bentonville (15-8, 6-5 6A-West) outscored the Bulldogs 23-20 in the final quarter as three players scored in double-figures.
Fayetteville's C.J. Williams drained a 3-pointer with 1:00 left to make it a one-point game at 55-54, but the Tigers got three free throws from Sawyer Price, and the Bulldogs (17-8, 8-3) misfired on several perimeter shots late.
Price scored 13 points to lead a balanced Bentonville attack. Brayden Freeman finished with 12 and Hayden Shanks scored 11.
Williams was the only Fayetteville player in double-figures with 10. Tamaury Releford scored 9 points -- just two in the second half -- after scoring 24 second-half points in the team's first meeting in January.
Rogers High 49, Springdale High 35
The Mounties pulled away in the fourth quarter to remain a game behind 6A-West-leading Springdale Har-Ber.
Drew Miller scored 17 points, while Will Liddell added 12 for Rogers (20-2, 9-2 6A-West). The Mounties led 24-15 at halftime and 33-24 after three. Grant James led Springdale with 11 points -- all in the first half.
Van Buren 63, Rogers Heritage 50
Gary Phillips scored 14 of his game-high 22 in the fourth quarter to help the Pointers hold off the War Eagles.
Van Buren (9-14, 3-8 6A-West) led 32-17 at halftime, but Heritage scored 20 third-quarter points to get within 43-37 after three quarters. But Phillips and Co. pulled away in the fourth quarter.
Logan Clines and Logan Glenn scored 11 points each for Heritage (9-14, 2-9). Glenn scored all of his points in the second half.
Preps Sports on 02/15/2020