Chris Harper, Ben Hays lead Bearcats past visiting Bears
The Bentworth duo each scored 22 points as the Bearcats won the 4th quarter, 19-10.
The Bentworth duo each scored 22 points as the Bearcats won the 4th quarter, 19-10.
The Bentworth boys basketball team has been working itself back into postseason contention the last couple of weeks, and on Thursday night the Bearcats found some steady ground on their potential trip to the playoffs with a 54-49 upset over visiting Clairton in Section 1-2A action.
“I think the last six games for us have been must-win games,” Bentworth coach Bob Kennedy pointed out. “This was a huge game for us, and to get a win against a Clairton team is a huge accomplishment. We played good defense and controlled the tempo with our offense. We knew we could not run in transition with them. We settled into our game plan and it worked.”
With Greensburg Central Catholic, Jeannette and Clairton locked into the top three spots in the section, Bentworth is battling with Springdale and Riverview for the final two playoff positions in the eight-team section.
The Bearcats (8-9, 5-6) have split games with both Springdale and Riverview this season. Next week is a huge one for Bentworth as they are at California, home against Frazier and at Jeannette next Saturday.
“The soccer season at Bentworth went late and we did not have a lot of our guys in the preseason,” Kennedy said. “We were a step behind. But around Christmas break, we found our legs and we found our game. It is about playing team basketball and playing to our strengths.”
Bentworth, which has won five of its last six games, only had three players reach the scoresheet, but it was enough as the home team was able to dictate the tempo of the game and played stifling defense all night. The Bears (7-8, 7-4) were limited to just 17 points in the second half.
Chris Harper scored 12 of his 22 points for the Bearcats in the fourth quarter, while Ben Hays garnered 22 and Lucas Burt chipped in with 10.
Taris Wooding was the only Clairton player in double- figures with 10 points. Donte Wright and Kahmani Parrotte scored 9 points each in the section setback. “It was a frustrating game for us,” Clairton coach Rashawd Hatten said. “We missed a lot of opportunities and had some good looks all night. We drew up some good plays but we did not execute or finish them. This is our third game in the last three days, but that is not an excuse. We have to learn from this. We have to start using our athleticism and size to our advantage.”
Trailing by eight points at halftime, the Bearcats stormed out of the locker room and posted a 7-2 run to start the second half that brought their deficit down to 34-31.
The visitors bounced back with five straight points, courtesy of a hoop by Tahvaz Armstrong and a 3-pointer by Wooding. Bentworth grabbed the next four points to close the third quarter, as Hays and Burt compiled interior bas- kets to make it 39-35 at the end of three.
After Clairton scored the opening basket of the fourth, Bentworth went on an 11-4 spree to take a 46-45 edge, its first lead since the early stages of the second quarter. Harper tallied nine of the 11 points for the Bearcats in the run, and that included the go-ahead 3-pointer at the 2:09 mark.
“Chris is a shooter,” Kennedy said. “He works hard on defense, but he is probably our best shooter on the team. And when he gets hot, he is tough to stop. He was cold in the first half, but once that first shot went in for him to start the fourth, he just started to reel in those shots.”
The squads traded a foul shot on their next possessions before the home team scored the next three points by way of a bucket by Hays and a free throw by Harper to go up 50-46 with 56 seconds remaining in regulation.
The Bears’ Michael Ruffin was fouled after making a basket with 26 seconds left, but he missed the ensuing foul shot. Hays corralled the rebound after the missed free throw and calmly drain both of his foul shots with 15 seconds left to give the home team a 52-48 advantage.
Parrotte was fouled on the next possession for Clairton and after making his first free throw, he intentionally missed the next shot from the charity stripe to set up a rebound opportunity for the visitors.
The ball was loose after the missed shot, but Bentworth alertly grabbed the ball and passed it up court to Harper, who scored the final points of the night with a breakaway layup.
It was a tale of two different outcomes at the foul line for both teams, as Bentworth was 8-for-14 at the charity stripe and Clairton struggled all night at the line with a 4-for-17 performance.
“Our goal is to win out,” Kennedy said. “We play California and Frazier, and those are two big rivalry games. Then we closed out the season against Jeannette. I don’t get caught up on all the different playoff scenarios. We keep it simple. I like where we are at right now, and the goal is keep improving every time we are on the court.”
Both offenses were humming in the opening eight minutes as the teams combined for 30 points. After the Bears opened the game with a 5-2 spurt, the Bearcats scored six of the next eight points. A trey by Wright made it 10-8, but Bentworth ended the opening frame with an 8-4 run.
Clairton seized the momentum back in the second stanza, holding an 18-8 scoring edge in the period and carried a 3224 lead into halftime.
Up next for the Bears is a road contest against first place GCC Saturday.