Fayetteville topples Springdale as longtime buddies reunite again

Fayetteville coach Brad Stamps is now 5-0 against his former colleague and friend, Jeremy Price.

By Steve Andrews | Photos by Sadie Rucker

SPRINGDALE — A photo just outside the Springdale boys locker room honors the school’s 7A state runner-up team of 2014. It includes then-assistant coach Jeremy Price on the left and then-head coach Brad Stamps on the right.

The two coaches, now head coaches at their respective alma maters, have remained close friends and were back on the same sideline again Friday night for a key 6A-West clash. Price is now in his seventh year leading the Springdale program, while Stamps is in his third season at the helm of the Fayetteville program. Although this was not the first time the pals have gone head-to-head, it is still a special event for the two, who embraced before and after the game.

“I always enjoy playing Fayetteville, because I enjoy seeing Coach Stamps,” Price said. “We’re still good friends and spend some time together in the summertime. I love sharing a sideline with him, because he’s a great guy and a great coach.”

Unfortunately for Price, he has lost all five games the two have faced each other, including Friday night’s 67-35 Purple Dog victory.

“Fayetteville played a great game, and a lot of what they did caused us to get out of what we do,” Price said. “Some of our youth and inexperience showed itself again tonight. We’ve just got to get better at executing, understanding the game plan and the scouting report. But all the credit to Fayetteville, they played a near flawless game.”

After Springdale (11-5, 2-2) took the early 2-0 lead on a bucket from big man Tevin Tate, Fayetteville (12-4, 4-0) cranked it up, with 6-foot-4 sophomore phenom Ornette Gains leading the charge. Gaines finished with a game-high 23 points, scoring 12 points in the lane, with a pair of 3-pointers and going 5 of 8 from the free throw line.

“Honestly, I was just able to drive with the ball most of the night, because they were not guarding me very well,” Gaines said. “So, I was beating them off the dribble and I just had to do what I had to do.”

He tied the score on a layup inside, then followed that with a three from the wing. Another layup late in the first quarter put the Purple Dogs up 15-7, as they got into a swift transition game.

“When the game started, our confidence was great,” Stamps said. “I saw smiles on our guys’ faces, I loved the energy we came out playing with. We were able to push the ball up the floor on offense and we were competing on defense. I’m really proud of our performance tonight.”

Springdale went nearly five minutes without scoring as Fayetteville extended the lead to 27-7 on a pair of 3-pointers from senior Landon Glasper early in the second period. Glasper finished with 15 points, including 8 in the quarter.

Jadyn Haney scored seven straight points for the Purple Dogs, then Mason Simpson drained his second 3-pointer from the top of the key to give Fayetteville a 42-13 lead at the intermission.

“We just got our transition game going, pushing the ball down the floor, then we were just making plays for each other,” Stamps said. “To get to 4-0 in this league is big, but we’ve got a tough week this week. But we just take them one game at a time."

Springdale began the second half with a spark, including five straight points from the free throw line by point-guard Courtland Muldrew, which cut the lead to 47-29 with two minutes remaining in the third quarter.

But Fayetteville finished the quarter on an 11-1 run. Nigel Armstrong’s reverse layoff gave the Purple Dogs a 58-30 advantage heading to the fourth.

“It’s still early in conference, and when you get your butts kicked you’ve got to learn from it and try to get better,” Price said. “We’ve got to do that, and we’ve got to do it quick.”

Freshman Isaiah Sealy led the Red Dogs with 12 points.

Fayetteville travels to Rogers Heritage Tuesday, then a trip to Har-Ber on Friday. Springdale travels to Bentonville on Tuesday, then hosts Bentonville West on Friday.

Fayetteville 54, Springdale 29 (GIRLS)

Junior point-guard Wynter Beck scored 7 of her game-high 22 points in the first quarter Friday night as she paced Fayetteville (8-9, 3-1) to a 54-29 victory over rival Springdale (3-15, 1-4) in a 6A-West matchup.

The Purple Dogs jumped out to a 15-5 lead after the opening frame, but Springdale then outscored them by one in the second quarter, cutting the lead to 22-13 at the break.

But Beck came back with 11 points in he third period as Fayetteville extended the lead 44-20.

Freshman guard Adriana Hernandez led the Red Dogs with 9 points.

Fayetteville travels to Rogers Heritage Tuesday, followed by a trip to Har-Ber on Friday. Springdale travels to Bentonville on Tuesday, then hosts Bentonville West on Friday.