Springdale duo too much for Bentworth
SPRINGDALE – It’s not often in a basketball game that three players do almost all of the scoring, but that’s what happened at Donald G. McGhee Fieldhouse Friday night.
Springdale’s Liam Dexter and Robbie Simmen proved to be a dynamic duo, while Bentworth’s Ben Hays did his best to keep pace.
In the end, a pair beat an ace.
Dexter had 21 points and Simmen scored 17 to help the Dynamos earn a season split with the Bearcats with a 43-31 victory in a Class 2A Section 1 game.
The duo scored all but seven of Springdale’s points.
Meanwhile, Hays provided most of the scoring for Bentworth, scoring a game-high 22 points.
Springdale (6-4, 9-8) and Bentworth (6-4, 11-5) are now tied for third in the section standings.
“This was a big win for us,” Dynamos coach Scott Ruppert said. “The kids were excited and they game-prepped well all week. I was really proud of them with how hard they worked.”
Outside two baskets by Ryan Moessner and Levi Urcho and a free throw from Matt Behanna, Hays had all of the Bearcats’ baskets.
That was the plan from the Dynamos all along.
“We wanted to limit the rest of the options they had and make it a Ben Hays game,” Ruppert said. “We knew that he was going to get his. The word I would use to describe him is gamer. He can get after it and get his points regardless. It was about limiting the others and making sure we were taking away what their second and third options were. Ben’s an excellent player and an All-Section player in my eyes. He did everything he could.”
Bentworth won the first meeting 45-42 in overtime on Dec. 19, but Springdale grabbed a 13-10 lead at the end of the first quarter and never trailed again.
The Dynamos led by eight after three quarters.
Hays made a runner in the lane to cut Springdale’s lead to 33-29 with six minutes remaining.
That’s as close as the Bearcats got.
Simmen had a steal and score that started an 8-0 run, which put the game out of reach. Simmen bookended the run with a layup that made the score 41-29.
“We just didn’t play well tonight,” Kennedy said. “We just didn’t get in gear tonight. It’s one of those games where if you turn the lights out and wait 15 minutes and start again it could be a whole different game, but we just couldn’t get going.
“We knew that could happen, because (Simmen and Dexter) are their two go-to guys.”
Dexter drained a three-pointer on consecutive trips to give Springdale a 13-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Dexter scored 10 of the Dynamos’ 13 first quarter points.
Ben Hays provided the offense for Bentworth with eight points and Levi Urcho had one basket after backing down a defender in the paint.
The teams traded the lead six times in the first quarter.
The Dynamos led the entire second quarter and took a 25-19 lead into halftime.
After going scoreless in the first quarter, Simmen had eight points in the second. His last two came after a heavy collision with Bentworth’s Matthew Behanna in the lane. Behanna had blood pouring out of his nose. He was called for a blocking foul.
Simmen made one of two free throws to give the Dynamos a 25-19 halftime lead.
Behanna received attention from trainers and had a towel around his nose as he went to the locker room. He did not return in the second half.
Bentworth 10 9 8 4 – 31
Springdale 13 12 8 10 – 43
Bentworth: Ben Hays, 22 points.
Springdale: Liam Dexter, 21 points; Robby Simmen, 17.