Fast start, slow finish costs Panthers in 4-4A action

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Heber Springs coach Jordan Riley reacts to call in the second half in 4-4A play against Pottsville at the Panther Den. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY

The Heber Springs Panthers started fast, but scored only 10 points during the final three quarters and fell to Pottsville in a Conference 4-4A basketball game at the Panther Den on Monday.

Heber Springs (3-6 in Conference 4-4A, 12-10 overall) led 11-8 after the first quarter. Pottsville built an 8-5 lead before the Panthers responded with six unanswered points, all scored by Parker Brown, for an 11-8 lead going into the second quarter.

Pottsville (3-6 in Conference 4-4A, 9-12 overall) scored the next five points to seize control and finished with a 9-3 scoring run for the 22-14 halftime lead. The Apaches put the game away by outscoring Heber Springs 17-4 and took a 39-18 advantage into the fourth quarter.

The win moved the Apaches into a tie for fifth place with Heber Springs.
Landon Stanley, who made six 3-pointers, led Pottsville with 24 points. Parker Brown scored 13 points for the Panthers.

“The big difference was how Pottsville shot the basketball well, and we didn’t shoot well,” Heber Springs coach Jordan Riley said. “It’s difficult to beat a team that shoots that well. We settled for stuff on offense too much and that led to poor shooting. Pottsville showed patience and executed on offense. It was a rough night on both ends of the court.”

Ryan Crocker, who was held to two points, played until late in the fourth quarter with a badly sprained ankle. Crocker suffered the injury during Friday’s shoot-around. He led the defense with two blocked shots.

“I’m proud of Ryan for playing even though he was not 100 percent,” Riley said. “We are a better team when he is on the floor. Hopefully, he will get healthy, but it will be difficult with three games this week. We will do the best we can.”

The Apaches had eight 3-pointers, which didn’t catch Riley by surprise.

“Pottsville had been shooting well from three, especially Stanley,” he said. “At times, we contested shots, but not tight enough. We never made the adjustments to keep him (Stanley) from making those shots.”

Heber Springs will look to rebound at home against Dardanelle (6-3 in Conference 4-4A, 13-7 overall) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

“It will be a tough game against Dardanelle, which is one of the top teams in the league,” Riley said. “We just have to battle through adversity and protect the homecourt. We need to win at least two more games to keep out of the play-in game for the conference tournament. Wherever we land, we will be ready to battle and give it our best shot.”

The Panthers’ final home game will be against Clarksville on Friday, with the regular season finale at Pottsville on Feb. 8.

Pottsville             8  14  17  5-44
Heber Springs  11    3    4  3 -21POTTSVILLE SCORING (44): Landon Stanley 24, Jackson Furrh 7, Trevor Lyles 5, Nico Ybarra 4, Landon Martin 2, Carson Palmer 2.
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (21): Parker Brown 13, Ladd Choate 3, Eli Riggs 3, Ryan Crocker 2.

Junior Panthers drop two road games

January 28, 2020

Heber Springs dropped a pair of road contests at Mayflower and Pottsville on Monday and Tuesday.

Against Pottsville on Tuesday, Heber Springs led 14-13 at the end of the first quarter but were outscored, 20-2, in the second quarter and never threatened in the second half.

Bauer Pruitt led the way for the Panthers with 8 points.

Against Mayflower, the Eagles were 20 out of 23 from the free-throw line and handed the Panthers a 52-20 setback.

Heber Springs was 6-of-12 from the line and was led by Eli Riggs’ 6 points.

The Panthers head into the final week of the regular season by traveling to Ozark for a 4A-4 contest tonight. Heber Springs will host Quitman on Monday and Subiaco Academy on Friday in its final home games of the season.

JANUARY 28 BOXSCORE
Heber Springs at Pottsville
Heber Springs  14  2  10   2 - 28
Pottsville     13 20  13  13 - 59 
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (28): Bauer Pruitt 8, Eli Riggs 5, Conner Riddle 5, Luke Greenwald 3, Easton Cusick 2, Bent McClain 2, Xander Lindley 1
POTTSVILLE SCORING (59): Landon Stanley 24, Fryar 9, Martin 8, Nic Ybarra 7, Landon Daily 5, Nason 3, Carson Palmer 3

JANUARY 27 BOXSCORE
Heber Springs at Mayflower
Heber Springs  6  9  4 1 - 20
Mayflower     11 27 20 1 - 52
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (20): Eli Riggs 6, Bent McClain 5, Conner Riddle 4, Hud Haggard 3, Xander Lindley 2
MAYFLOWER SCORING (52): Moody 21, (No. 11) Davis 17, (No. 3) Davis 5, Pitts 4, Robinson 4, Jones 3, Stigall 2, Donohoo 2, Raney 1
HEBER SPRINGS JUNIOR BOYS BASKETBALL
2019-2020 SCHEDULE/RESULTS
COACH: Chad Johnson
OVERALL RECORD: 5-14
4A-4 RECORD: 2-4
November 9 - Greenbrier 37, Heber Springs 17 ^
November 12 - Nemo Vista 45, Heber Springs 37
November 13 - Heber Springs 54, Yellville-Summit 50 ^
November 14 - Dover 43, Heber Springs 36 ^
November 19 - Heber Springs 44, South Side Bee Branch 38
November 21 - Riverview 51, Heber Springs 21
November 23 - Cabot South 8th 37, Heber Springs 33 *
November 23 - Conway Blue 71, Heber Springs 39 *
November 26 - Clinton 44, Heber Springs 27
December 10 - Heber Springs 45, Dover 33 #
December 13 - Marshall 46, Heber Springs 38
December 16 - Heber Springs 36, White County Central 35
December 20 - Ozark 46, Heber Springs 28 #
January 7 - Pottsville 51, Heber Springs 35 #
January 10 - Heber Springs 33, Subiaco Academy 3 #
January 14 - Dardanelle 43, Heber Springs 17 #
January 16 - Mount Vernon-Enola 44, Heber Springs 41 (OT)
January 24 - Dover 39, Heber Springs 28 #
January 27 - Mayflower 52, Heber Springs 20
January 28 - Pottsville 59, Heber Springs 28 #
January 31 - at Ozark #
February 3 - Quitman
February 4 - at Dardanelle #
February 7 - Subiaco Academy #
February 10 - District Tournament at Ozark

(^ - Denotes Marshall Tournament)
(* - Denotes Heber Springs Tournament)
(# - Denotes 4A-4 Conference Game)