NORTHSIDE STARTS FAST, ROUTS BENTONVILLE

BENTONVILLE -- Fort Smith Northside's boys didn't have their coach Tuesday night, but the Grizzlies had their 3-point shooting and their sticky defense. That was more than enough for the Grizzlies as they hit eight shots beyond the arc and caused a number of Bentonville turnovers en route to a 60-36 nonconference victory over the Tigers in Tiger Arena. Northside (5-4) played the game without coach Eric Burnett, who was absent because of a family matter. Isaiah Joe and Tevin Brewer, through, took matters into their own hands as the two Grizzlies combined for 42 points. "I'm really proud of our guys," said Northside assistant coach Greg Scott, who took over in Burnett's absence. "We're a very senior-oriented team, and actually the last couple of games this team has faced some adversity. "We had a tournament in Kansas City last week, and on the last day our hotel caught on fire. Saturday, we were up at 4 a.m., and we had to play that day at 2:30 with no sleep. This time, our coach is going through a family situation, and once again, the senior leadership showed and they played hard." Northside didn't give Bentonville (2-6) a chance to rest, particularly in the first quarter. After Asa Hutchinson's bucket pulled with the Tigers with 9-6 with 4 minutes, 48 seconds left in the first quarter, the Grizzlies turned the game into a rout with 17 unanswered points. Joe, who finished with 25 points, had a trio of 3-pointers in the opening 8 minutes. Brewer scored 12 more and beat the buzzer with Northside's sixth 3-pointer, giving the Grizzlies a 26-6 cushion. "We wanted to jump on them early," Scott said. "We wanted to execute defensively and offensively. That's part of our game plan: make the other team play faster. We wanted to be aggressive, and they did." Northside led by as many as 25 points in the second quarter before Bentonville trimmed it to 40-19 at halftime. The Tigers opened the second half with a bucket by Michael Shanks, but the Grizzlies came back and forced the running clock when Brewer's layup to end the third quarter made it a 60-30 game. Hutchinson and Arman Akbar each had 10 points for Bentonville, which suffered its third straight loss. The Tigers played without senior guard Jordan Hemphill, who suffered an injury during Saturday's game in Memphis. Bentonville coach Jason McMahan was unavailable for comment following the game.

NORTHSIDE STARTS FAST, ROUTS BENTONVILLE

HENRY APPLE

Arkansas Online | 12/14/2016

PHOTO CREDIT: Northside Athletics