Basketball: Van Buren sweeps Har-Ber

Van Buren was battered, bruised, and bleeding, literally, at halftime on Tuesday night. Then they played the third quarter. The Lady Pointers scored the first 12 points of the second half and went on to a 47-31 win against Springdale Har-Ber to move its winning streak to 10 straight. "We went to a UFC bout and a basketball game broke out," Van Buren head coach Chris Bryant said. "That's what we're expecting Friday night, and I'd be disappointed with anything less." The win set up a monster showdown to end the first half of the 7A-West round-robin schedule between conference unbeatens Van Buren (15-3, 6-0) and Fayetteville (19-2, 6-0) on Friday night at Fayetteville, which beat Springdale, 81-72, on Tuesday. Tuesday, Har-Ber sent a wave of 6-foot-1 inside players at Van Buren, including starter Karrington Whaley and the Brown sisters, Juella and Juliza, off the bench. "You were scared of what was coming next," Bryant said. "They're a very good basketball team. They showed in that first half the fight and competitiveness they're able to bring." Har-Ber (10-9, 1-5) grabbed 10 offensive rebounds in the opening 16 minutes and had a 21-14 edge on the boards in all. "They can pose those kinds of problems to you," Bryant said. "They're very athletic, very big and very physical. That's something they stress." A putback by Juliza Brown gave Har-Ber a 10-6 lead with 4:20 left in the second quarter. Jamilyn Kinney swished a 3-pointer for Van Buren, Kinney added two free throws, and after a turnover, Kinney drove and dished to Halie Jennen, who knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner with 1:52 left in the half. Another offensive rebound and bucket by Krislyn Smith at the buzzer had Har-Ber within 14-12 at the half. "Both teams were scrapping," Bryant said. "It was a hard-fought, physical half. It was clean. Neither team was dirty. It was just hard-fought and physical. We had to play through contact, and it led to an exciting half of basketball. I'm sure everybody enjoyed that." Van Buren held Har-Ber off the scoreboard, though, for the first half of the third quarter and forced the Lady Wildcats into turnover, turnover, miss, miss, miss on its first five possessions. Van Buren answered on the offensive end with a 3-pointer by Kinney, a fast-break layup by Lani Snowden off a pass from Jennen, a conventional three-point play by Jennen, and two buckets by Taylar Sutton, the first off a pass from Bailey Jones and then a feed from Kinney for a 26-12 lead with 4:26 left in the quarter. Jones ended the third quarter with a 3-pointer, and Kinney started the final quarter with a 3-pointer to cap a 20-4 run over a nine-minute stretch to open the second half. "Maybe we let some of our offensive woes and struggles affect us on the glass, defensively" Bryant said. "The struggle we faced in the first half, and then for these young to come out and go on a 20-4 run in the second half." Van Buren opened up a 39-19 lead with 5:50 left on Irasema Sandoval's conventional three-point play. Kinney finished with 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Jennen had seven points and eight rebounds. Van Buren 62, Springdale Har-Ber 56 BOYS - They'll be no undefeated 7A-West boys team this season. Van Buren won its fourth straight conference game, knocking off league-leading Har-Ber, 62-56, on Tuesday. The win also capped Van Buren's fourth-straight varsity doubleheader sweep in the 7A-West. The Pointers (11-8, 4-2) scored 26 points in the fourth quarter and wiped out a 37-36 deficit heading into the final quarter. Jordan West scored eight of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, Presley Kindrix scored nine of his 16 in the final period, and Beau Beckner chipped in six of his 14 in the final eight minutes to pace the Pointers. Beckner opened the fourth quarter with a bucket inside to erase Har-Ber's lead, and Kindrix drove for a bucket for a 40-37 lead. Van Buren never trailed again, but Har-Ber tied the game at 49-49 and 51-51 with 1:44 left. Beckner hit two free throws, and Kindrix added two more. After Tylor Perry scored inside for Har-Ber, West hit two free throws on an intentional foul with 26 seconds left, and Kindrix added two more on the ensuing possession three seconds later for a 59-53 cusion. Perry led Har-Ber (15-5, 5-1) with 18 points. K.J. Stewart added six points and nine rebounds for Van Buren. Beckner had nine rebounds and three blocks.

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Van Buren High School Athletics

BASKETBALL: VAN BUREN SWEEPS HAR-BER

LELAND BARCLAY

Times Record | 1/25/2017