Bentonville turned Senior Night at Springdale into a miserable night for the Bulldogs.
Bentonville grabbed an 18-point lead at halftime and blasted Springdale 70-32 Tuesday in 6A-West Conference action at the Bulldogs’ gym.
Abel Hutchinson scored 19 points to lead Bentonville (18-8, 8-5), which lost 60-52 to Springdale when the teams met in league play on Jan. 25.
Bentonville connected on 12 3-pointers from 5 different players. Harrison Hicks scored 12 points on four 3-pointers to lead the Tigers’ long-range shooting. Bentonville was also dominant inside with Hutchinson leading the way.
“We’re playing our best basketball right now,” Bentonville coach Dick Rippee said. “We’ve got experience back from a final four team last year, and our guys know what it’s takes to be good this time of year.”
Springdale was vulnerable for a letdown after handing Fayetteville its first league-loss last Friday. More importantly, Springdale played for the first time without star freshman standout Courtland Muldrew, who broke his thumb in the win at Fayetteville.
Springdale (18-7, 9-4) couldn’t make up for the loss of Muldrew, who scored 18 points at Fayetteville. Freshman Isaiah Sealy scored 13 points and sophomore Anthony Thomas 11 for the Bulldogs.
Bentonville was hot from the outset with Owen Derhmann connecting on consecutive 3-pointers to prompt a Springdale timeout with the Tigers leading 11-3. Bentonville kept scoring and attacking with Hutchinson maneuvering inside for high-percentage shots. Springdale missed plenty of shots in the second quarter and fell behind 36-18 following back-to-back 3-pointers from Jayden Lee and Dehrmann.
“We came out, started hot, and took the lead early,” Dehrmann said. “Then, our defense was as good as it’s been all year.”
The halftime break did little to slow Bentonville, which connected on three 3-pointers while increasing its lead to 45-18 midway through the third quarter. Bentonville continued to dominate and the starters left with the Tigers hold a 64-27 lead with about five minutes left in the game.
The group received a well-deserved round of applause as they left the court from Bentonville fans who made the trip to Springdale for the game.
