Basketball: Van Buren rallies past Rogers

VAN BUREN -- Junior guard Jamilyn Kinney made the plays Van Buren needed down the stretch to pull away Tuesday night at Clair Bates Arena. Kinney scored eight of her 11 points in the final quarter to help Van Buren hold off Rogers High in a 50-47 victory in a 7A-West conference matchup. "There wasn't any doubt from her or any of our kids that we weren't going to get this done," Van Buren coach Chris Bryant said. "I have to give Rogers a lot of credit because they played great. But I'm very proud of our kids." Rogers held a 43-37 lead heading into the final quarter, but scored just four points in the fourth and Van Buren was able to complete the come-from-behind victory. The Lady Mounties had a shot to tie the game at the buzzer, but it didn't fall. "There was a stretch there where we were playing great basketball," Rogers coach Preston Early said. "We just didn't make the plays down the stretch, to their credit. They give you a small margin of error." Van Buren was led by sophomore Jentry Myers, who finished with a game-high 21 points by making seven of the team's 12 3-pointers. "That's why she is in there hitting those 3-point shots," Bryant said. "We have played here a little with some injuries. It's a long season. Maybe she isn't a sophomore anymore. She didn't played like it tonight." Rogers was led by Elise Randel's team-high 18 points. Madison Loyd added 15 points, while Kelsey Richmond had 14 for the Lady Mounties. Lani Snowden had 11 points for Van Buren. Rogers cut Van Buren's halftime lead to 31-28 with a strong second quarter after struggling from the field to open the game. Van Buren made its first five 3-point attempts to help open a 20-10 lead after the first quarter. The Lady Pointers finished 6 of 9 from the field in the opening quarter. "We fell for the hype there in the first few quarters," Bryant said. "We had some of the best offensive runs you could ask for. But Rogers wasn't making the shots they did later." Rogers bounced back in the second quarter with hot shooting of its own, making 6 of 9 field goals. The Lady Mounties didn't score their first points of the second quarter until 5:11 was left in the half, but they scored in bunches after that, outscoring Van Buren 18-6 on the strength of four 3-pointers. "They were shooting the ball so well," Early said. "They are a good shooting team. But you can't make them all. They were just so hot on offense. All of a sudden, we might it a little more difficult and hit some shots." Rogers was able to open up a 36-31 lead in the third quarter by using an 8-0 run out of halftime. The Lady Mounties made just 4-of-12 attempts from the field in the first quarter. "It was a real competitive game," Early said. "This would have been a real steal because nobody comes here and wins often. I'm proud of these girls. We played well enough to win." Boys Van Buren 47, Rogers High 38 Van Buren used a strong second half to break up a close score at the half. The Pointers held a 19-16 lead at halftime, but pushed it to 35-28 with a 3-pointer from Jordan West to close out the third quarter. The Mounties were able to cut the lead to 38-34 early in the fourth quarter, but were outscored 9-4 down the stretch. Beau Beckner led the way for Van Buren with a game-high 20 points, with 11 coming in the second half. He scored nine points to lead a 13-8 scoring advantage in the first quarter. Jake Benninghoff had a team-high 14 points for Rogers. Girls Van Buren 50, Rogers High 47 Rogers: 10-18-15-4 - 47 Van Buren: 20-11-6-13 - 50 Rogers (13-9, 6-5): Randels 18, Loyd 15, Richmond 14. Van Buren (19-4, 10-1): Myers 21, Snowden 11, Kinney 11, Sandoval 3, Jennen 2, Evans 2. Boys Van Buren 47, Rogers High 38 Rogers: 8-8-12-10 - 38 Van Buren: 13-6-16-12 - 47 Rogers (7-17, 0-11): Benninghoff 14, Greear 6, Roberson 4, Jones 4, Dake 4, Casey 3, Early 2, Glimer 1. Van Buren (14-10, 7-4): Beckner 20, Kindrix 8, West 6, Stewart 6, Salisbury 4, Ball 3.

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Van Buren High School Athletics

BASKETBALL: VAN BUREN RALLIES PAST ROGERS

HAROLD MCLLVAIN

NWA Democrat-Gazette | 2/15/2017