Day: December 11, 2019

Heber Springs takes consolation bracket at tourney

December 10, 2019

BY LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY

The Heber Springs Lady Panthers won two of three games at the Joe Mallett Classic and hope the momentum carries over to Tuesday’s Conference 4-4A basketball opener at Dover.

Heber Springs (6-1) lost to host Conway St. Joseph, but the Lady Panthers finished strong by defeating South Side Bee Branch and Wonderview, the defending 1A state champions.

“We had a great tournament,” Heber Springs coach Jamey Riddle said. “It was good to play a team like St. Joseph for the first game. We didn’t shoot well after the Thanksgiving break, but it still was a good game. We beat South Side for the second time this season and Wonderview was a good game for us, too. We had a good tournament against tough competition. I’m pleased how we played overall.”

Heber Springs started the season with four wins before its first loss. Riddle said the defeat taught his team valuable lessons, which can be used to play better in the future.

“Sometimes it’s better to get a loss early in the season,” he said. “The team learned you have to be ready for every game. We adjusted our full-court press against St. Joseph and did a good job of doing it. We played our regular full-court press against South Side, and it worked in that game. We shot well against Wonderview We found a way to win the last two games.”

Riddle said the Lady Panthers benefited from the overtime win at Clinton before Thanksgiving and that helped in preparing for the tournament.

“Clinton was a great atmosphere,” he said. “We overcame foul trouble with our bench players playing well. We did a good job of handling Clinton’s pressure defense. We made shots and got rebounds. We were glad to come out on top.”

Heber Springs will look to continue the momentum from the first seven games against Dover.

“We play those games to get ready for the conference schedule,” Riddle said. “The situations we faced will help to prepare us. But we must shoot free throws better. Our free-throw shooting helped to win the Clinton game. If we had made more free throws, the Wonderview game would not have been as close. “

(PUBLISHER’S NOTE: This story was posted after Heber Springs’ opening 4A-4 conference game on Tuesday. The Lady Panthers won 59-56. McCarty will have story later on MarkedTime.com about Tuesday’s win by the Panthers.)

HEBER SPRINGS SENIOR GIRLS 
2019-2020 SCHEDULE/RESULTS
RECORD: 7-1
4A-4 RECORD: 1-0
November 12 - Heber Springs 55, Nemo Vista 31
November 19 - Heber Springs 70, South Side Bee Branch 45
November 21 - Heber Springs 67, Riverview 27
November 26 - Heber Springs 56, Clinton 54 (OT)
December 3 - Conway St. Joseph 47, Heber Springs 44 #
December 5 - Heber Springs 53, South Side Bee Branch 34 #
December 7 - Heber Springs 44, Wonderview 43 #
December 10 - Heber Springs 59, Dover 56 ^
December 13 - at Marshall
December 16 - at White County Central
December 20 - Ozark ^
December 26 - Cowboy Chevrolet Holiday Classic
December 27 - Cowboy Chevrolet Holiday Classic
December 28 - Cowboy Chevrolet Holiday Classic
January 7 - Pottsville ^
January 9 - at Newport
January 14 - Dardanelle ^
January 17 - at Clarksville ^
January 21 - Morrilton ^
January 24 - Dover ^
January 28 - at Pottsville ^
January 31 - at Ozark ^
February 4 - at Dardanelle ^
February 11 - at Morrilton ^
February 14 - Clarksville (Senior Night) ^
February 17 - 4A-4 District at Dardanelle

(# - Denotes Conway St. Joseph Tournament)
(^ - Denotes 4A-4 conference contest)


Panthers resilient despite 0-4 start

November 10, 2019

By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY

Heber Springs coach Chad Johnson never put his finger on pushing the panic button despite the Panthers starting the season at 0-4.

Johnson said the players, a majority who played football, continues to make the transition from the gridiron to the court, and he sees light at the end of the tunnel.

Heber Springs came close to that first win Thursday, falling to South Side Bee Branch, 50-49, at the Joe Mallett Classic in Conway.

“It was a battle,” Johnson said. “We trailed by 11 points in the first half and chipped away. We trailed by one point with 16 seconds left in the game. South Side had the ball and turned it over with 13.5 seconds to go. We got a good shot that rimmed out. We got the rebound and shot again, but it was blocked out of bounds with no time left.”

Heber Springs played tough competition, starting the season five days after the football playoffs The Panthers hosted Riverview, then played at Clinton and then played two games at the tournament.

The four opponents have winning records and a combined record of 21-9.

“I’m pleased with the team’s progress, especially against South Side,” Johnson said. “We could have folded by losing the first four games, but they didn’t. We are battling every game to the end. I’m proud of the players for doing that. We have a tough schedule and no creampuffs.”

Johnson said the players have improved, thanks to focusing on basketball, and he expects success to come soon.

“We are working on shooting at every practice,” he said. “We need more players contributing with scoring. We are playing good defense and our endurance is increasing. The players are playing with intensity for the entire game. They are playing with more energy, enthusisam and desire.”

Johnson said playing good competition will benefit the team in the long run.

“Our early schedule has been an eye opener and pushed the players to get better quickly,” he said. “We don’t have much height and must take advantage of our speed. We are excuting better on offense and need to make more shots. I’m pleased where we are right now.”

Heber Springs will open the Conference 4-4A schedule at Dover on Tuesday.

“Our conference is very tough, but we have a strong will to win,” Johnson said. “Four teams advanced deep in last year’s playoffs. That shows the strength of our conference. There are no weak teams.”

Johnson said work remains, but the team is capable of meeting the challenge.

“We must improve our shooting, but we also need improvement in all areas of the game,” he said. “We have players who want to win games and they are willing to put in the effort to be successful. We can do that with hard work.”

(PUBLISHER’S NOTE: This story was posted after Heber Springs’ opening 4A-4 conference game on Tuesday. The Panthers won 37-32. McCarty will have story later on MarkedTime.com about Tuesday’s win by the Panthers.)

HEBER SPRINGS SENIOR BOYS BASKETBALL
2019-2020 SCHEDULE RESULTS
RECORD: 1-4
4A-4 RECORD: 1-0
November 21 - Riverview 68, Heber Springs 36
November 26 - Clinton 71, Heber Springs 35
December 3 - Conway St. Joseph 44, Heber Springs 21 #
December 5 - South Side Bee Branch 50, Heber Springs 49#
December 10 - Heber Springs 37, Dover 32 ^
December 13 - at Marshall
December 16 - at White County Central
December 20 - Ozark ^
December 26 - Cowboy Chevrolet Holiday Classic
December 27 - Cowboy Chevrolet Holiday Classic
December 28 - Cowboy Chevrolet Holiday Classic
January 7 - Pottsville ^
January 10 - at Subiaco Academy ^
January 14 - Dardanelle ^
January 17 - at Clarksville ^
January 21 - Morrilton ^
January 24 - Dover ^
January 28 - at Pottsville ^
January 31 - at Ozark ^
February 4 - at Dardanelle ^
February 7 - Subiaco Academy ^
February 11 - at Morrilton ^
February 14 - Clarksville (Senior Night) ^
February 17 - 4A-4 District at Dardanelle

(# - Denotes Conway St. Joseph Tournament)
(^ - Denotes 4A-4 conference contest)