It doesn’t get much better than a high school, cross-town rivalry game that comes down to the final quarter. Friday night’s game was definitely a nail-bitter for everyone in the packed Springdale High Gym.

“The crowd was amazing. They gave us so much energy and confidence,” said senior forward Jon Vaughn.

The Har-Ber Wildcats (8-15,1-8) came out and surprised the Springdale Bulldogs (15-7,6-3). Har-Ber controlled much of the first half, as they lead through most of the first two quarters. But the Bulldogs went on a run to give them the advantage at halftime.

The third quarter was a constant back-and-forth battle between the ‘Cats and ‘Dogs. Springdale guard Mytaah Crawford and Har-Ber gaurd Jacob Berry looked like they were competing in a 3-point shoot-out for much of the second half.

Crawford scored a game-high 32 points for Springdale.

Berry contributed eight points to the Wildcat’s effort.

The suspense of the rivalry game came all the way down to the final minutes of the game. After an explosive run by the Bulldogs, the Wildcats found themselves down by 9 points with a little over 5 minutes left. But the Wildcats quickly responded with a set of threes from two unlikely heroes: seniors Jon Vaughn and Evan Johnson.

“I was very excited [to hit the three pointer] because it was my first one all year, and it came at a good time. Jacob Berry set me up with his steal and assist,” said Vaughn.

Vaughn led the way for the Wildcats with 27 points.

It was a 3-point game with 1 minute, 24 seconds left. The Bulldogs held the ball for much of the remainder of the game. This allowed the Bulldogs to finish on top, 69-72.