Tigers turn back Bobcats

The Green Forest Tigers let a big lead slip away in the second half against a young Berryville team in a matchup of Carroll County rivals on Tuesday, Nov. 14. But the Tigers regained control down the stretch to beat the Bobcats 56-51 at the Grim Gym.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Green Forest coach Shane Compton. “I don’t know exactly how many years it had been, but it’s been a while.”

Green Forest senior Brayden Compton, Shane Compton’s son, scored 27 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Tigers. He converted a three-point play off a pick-and-roll pass from senior guard Hesten Maybee to give Green Forest a 53-48 lead with 23.1 seconds remaining after Berryville had fought back from a 16-point first-quarter deficit to take the lead on a three-pointer by junior Decimus Ruiz midway through the fourth quarter.

“He played really well,” Shane Compton said of his son. “That was a big play at the end.”

Berryville had dominated the rivalry for the past several years, but Green Forest made a strong opening statement, starting the game with a 15-1 run that included a pair of three-pointers by Maybee and another by junior Zak Watson.

Berryville sophomore Peyton Smith hit a three-pointer with 2:57 left in the first quarter to get Berryville within 15-4 but Green Forest senior Brayden Compton scored inside the lane and Watson banked in a three-pointer to extend the Tigers’ lead to 20-4 with 1:03 remaining.

Shane Compton said his team came out motivated.

“We talked about it before the game,” he said. “If you can’t get excited about that game, then you’re not going to get excited about any game. That’s your rival and that’s a team you haven’t beaten in a long time, so I think it really meant something to those guys.”

Brent Compton, Shane Compton’s cousin, said the Bobcats’ lack of experience was clear early, especially against a Green Forest team that started four seniors.

“We went into the game with little to no experience,” Brent Compton said. “It’s our first game. You have to give Green Forest credit. They played really well, especially out of the gate. And you have to give our guys credit. They didn’t give in.”

Green Forest maintained control throughout the first half, pushing its lead to 30-13 when Brayden Compton scored in transition off a pass from Watson with 1:46 left in the second quarter.

Berryville scored the final six points of the first half, however, with a putback by Ashton Blok and two free throws each by Ruiz and Dale Nagtalon to get within 10, 32-22, at halftime.

Berryville outscored Green Forest 10-5 in the third quarter, pulling within three points when Houghton made the second of two free throws with 1:14 left to cut the Tigers’ lead to 35-32.

Green Forest answered with a basket from close range by Brayden Compton and a baseline pullup from junior Brityn Gilliam for a seven-point lead early in the fourth quarter.

Ruiz hit a three-pointer from the left baseline, then Smith converted a steal into a driving layup and Houghton converted a three-point play to pull the Bobcats within one at 41-40 with 5:48 left in the game.

Maybee hit the second of two free throws with 4:45 left for a two-point lead but Houghton finally put Berryville ahead when he dropped in a three-pointer from the top of the key with 4:36 left, then Ruiz added a three from the left baseline for a 46-42 Bobcats lead.

Green Forest had an answer, though. Maybee hit his third three-pointer of the game with 3:35 left and then passed to Brayden Compton for a basket that put the Tigers back in front 47-46.

Berryville took its final lead when Houghton hit a pullup jumper from the right baseline to make it 48-47.

From there, Green Forest scored eight consecutive points. The first three came from the free throw line, where Watson, Gilliam and Maybee each hit one of two. That left the Tigers with a two-point lead before Maybee found Brayden Compton for the threepoint play that made it a two-possession game and seemed to clinch the win for Green Forest.

After a Berryville turnover, Maybee sank two free throws with 12.3 seconds left for a seven-point lead.

Smith hit a three-pointer with 7.9 seconds left to cut the deficit to four, but Brayden Compton made the second of two free throws with 5.6 seconds left to finish the scoring.

Maybee scored 13 points and added five assists while Watson scored 11 and senior Ajay Strain had eight rebounds for Green Forest.

A pair of sophomores led the way for Berryville, with Houghton scoring 21 points and Smith adding 11.

“Our guys didn’t give in,” Brent Compton said. “They fought back there in the second half and took the lead. It just didn’t go our way. It wasn’t that our kids didn’t play as hard as they could. We just didn’t get it done.”

Shane Compton said he won’t give his cousin a hard time about the outcome.

“As much as I would like to, he hasn’t done that to me for the past five years,” Shane Compton said.

The two teams will meet again Monday, Nov. 27, in the Omaha Border Classic.