MOUNTIES TOP WAR EAGLES IN HARD-FOUGHT WIN

Rogers High started 6A-West Conference play by wiping out a 28-game losing streak and the Mounties finished off the first half of league play with a hard-fought 51-43 road win over crosstown rival Rogers Heritage on Friday night at War Eagle Arena. A slow start in front of a vocal crowd was also all but forgotten as the Mounties took control early in the fourth quarter and made enough free throws late to secure the victory. Rogers (15-4, 5-2) fell behind 10-0 to start and didn't score for the first six-plus minutes, but came back with a strong second half. The Mounties made four of first first shots to start the third quarter to extend a 1-point halftime lead to six. Heritage (7-12, 2-5) pulled within one early in the fourth quarter on Jason Kimball's 3-pointer. But Rogers responded with a 9-3 spurt capped by Karsen Uecker's 3-pointer from the corner to push the lead to 46-38 with less than four minutes left. "It was kinda par for the course for us," Rogers coach Lamont Frazier said. "We knew they would come out and play. I was just hoping it wouldn't get too bad, too quick. I'm proud of how they stayed in there and fought through that tough time." The Mounties struggled again from the free-throw line, but made 5 of 10 in the final 1 minute, 51 seconds to put the game away. Drew Miller and Elliot Paschal led a balanced scoring attack with 10 points each for Rogers, while freshman Will Liddell chipped in nine. Kimball led all scorers with 12 for Heritage, while Logan Clines added 10. Rogers Heritage coach Tom Olsen credited Rogers' execution offensively late in the game as the difference. "We kinda broke down defensively and didn't stay focused on what we do," Olsen said. "I give Rogers a lot of credit. They executed well and shared the ball late and got some quality shots that we weren't getting." Frazier said he expected the team to perform well and is proud of his team's effort to this point, but he's looking for more. "Just looking at records, wins and losses we would have expected it, but I still think there's a lot of basketball left for us to be better at, obviously just looking at some of the things tonight," Frazier said. "They deserve credit for what they've done, but let's not get ahead of ourselves because we've got a lot left." Rogers High 51, Rogers Heritage 43 Rogers 2 16 16 17 -- 51 Heritage 12 5 13 13 -- 43 Rogers (15-4, 5-2): Miller 10, Paschal 10, Liddell 9, Hobbs 7, Uecker 5, Park 4, Rhame 4, Voigt 2.

MOUNTIES TOP WAR EAGLES IN HARD-FOUGHT WIN

PAUL BOYD

Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette | 1/26/2019

PHOTO CREDIT: Charlie Kaijo