A slow start wouldn’t deter the Benton Panthers Tuesday at Benton Arena as they would rout the Watson Chapel Wildcats 57-32 in 6A/5A blended conference action.
Watson Chapel would lead 5-0 early on and held a 13-8 lead after one.
“The first quarter they caught everybody off guard, myself included kind of going to a matchup zone there,” Benton Coach Dexter Hendrix said. “You have to give credit to Watson Chapel’s coaching staff. I thought that was a good call.
“We didn’t handle their pick-and-roll situations, the ball-screen schemes early on, we didn’t handle the right way, but we adjusted to it, were able to get on the break and did some good things.”
But, it was a different story the second quarter as it didn’t take long for Benton (16-5, 6-2) to take the lead. After the Wildcats missed two free throws to start the second quarter, Panther junior Jai Peters hit an 8-foot jumper and picked up a steal and bucket to get within one. Senior Fred Harris capped the 6-0 run with a layup to give Benton a 14-13 lead with 4:41 left until halftime.
Lady Wildcats 37, Lady Panthers 24
Facing one of the top teams in the state in 6A/5A blended conference action Tuesday at Benton Arena, the Benton Lady Panthers held strong for much of the game but couldn’t execute offensively in an eventual 37-24 loss to the Watson Chapel Lady Wildcats.
“They’re one of the best basketball teams in the state of Arkansas, hands down,” Benton Coach Jerry Chumley said. “They’re very athletic, very mature, disciplined. They don’t play wild and crazy. They’re very well-coached. They’re the best basketball team we’ve played all year, by far.”
It was a low-scoring game at the start as the two teams were tied 4-4 for most of the first quarter, but Wildcat senior post player Peyton Martin would hit a 3-pointer with under a minute left which was followed with another three with three seconds left for a 10-4 Watson Chapel lead after one.