The Benton Panthers had little trouble with the visiting Mena Bearcats Tuesday night at Benton Arena. Holding a 12-5 lead after one quarter, the Panthers outdid the Bearcats 20-6 in the second quarter to begin a rout and eventual 62-19 victory.
“You never know how kids are going to respond coming back from Thanksgiving break, not being in the best shape yet, so I was happy to see them all come out and play for four quarters,” Benton Coach Dexter Hendrix said. “They just played the right way. It was all senior Clay Anderson in the first half as he started the game with a steal and layup, and took a pass from senior forward Jake Scoggins for a put in for an early 4-0 lead. Anderson’s steal was one of 15 total for the Panthers (2-1) as they forced 25 Mena turnovers, opposed to just nine for Benton.
Junior forward Fred Harris, who led Benton with 14 points, scored the next four points for the 8-0 lead. Scoggins scored the final four points for Benton in the first, his last a bucket assisted by Anderson for the 12-5 lead.
It was all Benton in the second quarter as the Panthers took a 26-9 lead on an Anderson bucket with 4:13 left, and Benton finished out the half on a 6-0 run with buckets from Scoggins, sophomore Jai Peters after a steal, and a Harris layup.