By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Things took a little while to get into gear. Once they did, the Beebe Badgers had a lot more of them to hit than did the Wynne Yellowjackets. Neither team was able to much going offensively for a couple of minutes, but once Beebe did, it set the tone for the rest of the game.
Beebe won the opening tip-off and ran its offense for nearly two minutes looking for a good shot. The patience paid off and the Badgers lulled Wynne to sleep. Beebe post player Dayton Scott caught the ball on the left elbow and passed out to point guard Brandon Fuller at the top of the key. Scott then rolled around the right elbow to the baseline, and snuck backside to the basket. Fuller lobbed the pass from about 20 feet and the game’s first basket was an alley-oop dunk. The play was a microcosm of the rest of the game as the Badgers rolled to a 60-30 victory.
“I thought we defended well,” Beebe coach Ryan Marshall said. “Wynne is very athletic and has some good size. I just thought we defended the way we should and we shot the ball pretty well too.”
Beebe raced out to a 12-4 lead before a Marvin Norman three pointer made it 12-7 halfway through the first quarter. The Badgers then closed the first period with seven straight points, including five by guard Zach May. May hit a three at the buzzer to make it 19-7.
Things got worse for the Yellowjackets from there. Reserve center Zach Baker hit a three pointer with 6:15 left in the first quarter to make it 25-9. The two teams traded buckets all the way to 31-15, but Beebe scored the final eight points of the quarter, including two more three pointers by May to end the half. May had 15 points at halftime and finished with 22 to lead all scorers.
He hit four of six three-point attempts, and the team made eight of 14.
Neither team scored a bucket in the third quarter until Wynne’s Joseph Saintly scored at the 5:28 mark. Beebe finally got a basket 17 seconds later on a driving layup by May. The Badgers were never able to stretch the lead to more than 28 points in the third quarter. Wynne freshman Romaine Harris began to find his rhythm and scored seven points in the quarter.
Wynne point guard Marvin Norman dropped in a three pointer to start the fourth quarter to make it 54-29, but it was the last basket the Yellowjackets got the rest of the game.
Beebe invoked the mercy rule with six quick points. May hit a three pointer with 6:13 remaining to make 60-29, and there were no more field goals the rest of the game.
May was the only player in double figures. Scott finished with nine points and six rebounds and Braden Jones had seven points for the Badgers. Fuller scored three points, but grabbed five rebounds and dished out six assists.
Norman led Wynne with nine points, all from three-point range.
