WEST TOP RED'DOGS IN DEFENSIVE BATTLE

Bentonville West coach Greg White said his team played with a sense of urgency it didn't have Tuesday against Fayetteville. The extra bounce in the Wolverines' step, particularly Gabe Hornsby's, pushed West to a 37-28 win at Springdale High. In a three-way tie in the league standings entering Friday, Hornsby's nine fourth-quarter points bettered West's state tournament hopes. He finished with a game-high 15 points. The junior opened the fourth quarter with a layup to give West a 22-21 lead, its first since the second quarter. He would go on to add two more buckets and three free throws to seal the win for the Wolverines. "Gabe is a guy that hasn't touched on all of his potential yet," White said. "He hasn't shot it well of late, but what he did in the fourth quarter was put us on his back. It's nice to have a guy like that." Points, obviously, were scarce in the early going. In the first quarter, the teams shot a combined 0-of-17 and were tied 1 heading to the second. Springdale's Carl Fitch scored the game's first bucket with just under seven minutes to play in the first half. White said he'd never seen anything like it before and credited the defenses of both teams. "I just told (Springdale coach Jeremy Price) I think we've got two of the top defensive teams in the league, just neither one of us can score," White said. "It's two mirrors competing with each other. But I couldn't be more proud of our guys for bouncing back after the way we lost to them at home. "You hold anyone to 28 points, you're doing your job." The win moves West to 11-12 overall and 4-6 in 7A-West play, creating a game of separation from the bottom of the league. White hopes to bottle Friday's feeling and carry it into next week's matchups at Har-Ber and at home against Rogers Heritage. "This win gives us a chance," White said. "We've got to come back focused next Tuesday at Springdale Har-Ber. That's a tough one. They're going to be ready. It's a tough league this year." Boston Barron and Cobe Muldrew each added nine points in the win for West. Fitch led the Red'Dogs with 10 points and Edwin Aquino added nine. Springdale travels to Bentonville to begin next week before hosting Van Buren on Friday.

WEST TOP RED'DOGS IN DEFENSIVE BATTLE

Photo Credit: Bentonville West High School Athletics

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