It was a simple tip by Joel Garner to end the third quarter Friday night, but it was the spark Rogers High's boys needed.

The freshman's bucket as the buzzer sounded put the Mounties ahead to stay, then they pulled away in the fourth quarter and claimed a 53-41 victory over Bentonville West during 6A-West Conference basketball action in Wolverine Arena.

What made it more impressive is that it was a freshman that did it," Rogers coach Lamont Frazier said. "This was actually his second game. It was big for him as far as confidence and getting him ready to play.

"It was also big for our team because it gave us something that we've been struggling to do. We've been stuck in a grind and go stretches when we don't score."

After West (6-10, 0-3) missed two free throws with 7.8 seconds left in the third quarter, Derek Hobbs drove to the basket from the left side but missed his shot. Garner, however, was in perfect position to tip the ball in as time expired to give Rogers (12-3, 2-1) a 30-28 cushion.

The Mounties then started the fourth quarter with a Mason Sell bucket, followed by back-to-back 3-pointers by Elliot Paschal and Drew Miller to extend the lead to a 38-28 cushion with 6 minutes remaining. Rogers' lead grew as much as 14 points as Joseph Park's bucket inside made it 47-33 with 2:53 remaining, and West couldn't get it below 10 again.

"At that point in time for us, it became a matter of how can we manage the game and how can we grow in that situation," Frazier said. "I felt like at that point we had relaxed a bit, and we were uptight most of the night. It felt like at that point we relaxed."

Paschal scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half and was the only player in double figures, while Miller was next in line for Rogers. Jonas Higson had nine points for West, which stumbled to its sixth consecutive loss.

ROGERS HIGH 53, BENTONVILLE WEST 41

Rogers 12 9 9 23 -- 53

West 14 4 10 13 -- 41

Rogers (12-3, 2-1): Paschal 16, Miller 9, Voigt 6, Hobbs 6, Park 4, Liddell 3, Rhame 3, Sell 2, Garner 2, Uecker 2.

West (0-3): Higson 9, Da. Bailey 7, Di. Bailey 6, Conner 6, Swoboda 5, Ruffner 4, Buccino 2, Honeycutt 1, Costantini 1.
