See videos below 
of the last seconds of both mind-blowing games! 
Come celebrate our two Saline County teams that each won in their conference in the 2025 AAA Arkansas Centennial Bank State Basketball Tournament. The Night of Champions is a time to celebrate together as a community after the Benton Panthers won the 5A Championship, and the Bryant Hornets won the 6A Championship.
These two amazing teams will come together in one spot on Tuesday, April 8th at 6:00 p.m. Come meet the teams that night at Everett Buick GMC. The address is 21115 Interstate 30 in Bryant. Come in school colors and ready to cheer for these hometown athletes.
I had no idea what would happen when I started filming at the end of the game, and I definitely didn’t expect this! See the video of Benton’s game below, and Bryant’s game after that. 
BENTON’S JOURNEY
Benton fought their way through four worthy opponents in the 5A bracket to come out on top. They started out on March 4th, playing West Memphis and won with a score of 78-50 to move on. Then they beat LR Christian 95-82 in the 2nd round and Marion 71-59 in the semi-finals.
It came down to the Panthers facing a tough and ready foe in the Maumelle Hornets at the championship game in Hot Springs. It was an uphill climb for our Panthers and looked bleak in the end, but then something like movie magic happened. See the video below for an incredible comeback to win 58-57.
BRYANT’S JOURNEY
The Bryant Hornets had a bye on the first week and they must have done their homework during that time, because they beat Bentonville 81-60 in the 2nd round, then handled Har-Ber 92-79 in the semi.
Their final opponent, the Springdale Bulldogs, had also enjoyed a bye at the start of the tournament and won their games with healthy leads. The Hornets looked unsure and clumsy in the beginning of the championship game. They’d score and the Bulldogs would come right back to lead.
But somewhere in the 3rd quarter, our Hornets said they aren’t going out like this. They rallied and put up enough points to stay ahead until a few seconds left in the game. But you don’t slow down until you win the race. That’s exactly what this talented Bryant team did to win it 69-59. Watch the video below to see all the energy in the room during those final seconds.
