The Heber Springs Panthers couldn’t overcome a slow start and lost to Ozark 57-28 in a 4-4A Conference basketball game at the Panther Den Friday.
It was the conference opener for the Hillbillies. The Panthers lost their conference opener at Subiaco Academy last week.
Ozark (1-0 in conference, 9-1 overall) built a 16-3 first-quarter lead and never trailed. The Panthers (0-2 in conference, 1-10 overall) picked up the pace during the second quarter. Ozark outscored Heber Springs 14-11 and led 30-14 at halftime.
The Hillbillies didn’t slow down during the second half and increased their lead to 43-22 going into the fourth quarter.
Garrett Schaffer scored a game-high 30 points for Ozark. Jaxson Harris had 12 points. Conner Riddle led the Panthers with 11 points.
Heber Springs will not play again until at Sheridan on Dec. 30. Home games scheduled this week with Newport and Cedar Ridge were canceled.
The next scheduled home game will be against Rose Bud on Jan. 2.
Heber Springs’ Zach Thomas goes up for a shot against Subiaco Academy Friday night at the Panther Den. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
February 7, 2020
By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY
A second-quarter scoring blitz proved too much for the Heber Springs Panthers against Subiaco Academy at the Panther Den Friday.
After Dalton McCollum’s field goal gave Heber Springs a 12-11 lead early in the second quarter, the Trojans seized control with a 17-4 scoring run and defeated the Panthers 54-23 in a 4-4A Conference basketball game.
Heber Springs was held to five points during the final two quarters.
The Panthers, who played with five players at Dardanelle in the previous games, dressed out seven players against Subiaco Academy. Gus Hannah remained sidelined because of the flu and Ryan Crocker was unable to play because of a wrist injury. Zach Thomas and Logan Monahan, who missed the Dardanelle game because of the flu, played for the first time in a week.
“We were running out of gas and juice by halftime,” Heber Springs coach Chad Johnson said. “Garrett Hudsepth injured his knee early in the second half. If we had been a healthy team, it would have been more of a competitive game at the end.”
Heber Springs led for the first time on Adam Martin’s 3-pointer during the opening quarter, 5-4.
Hudspeth scored to increase it the Panther advantage before three consecutive lead changes.
Subiaco Academy led 11-10 going into the second quarter and increased it to 28-16 by halftime.
The Trojans pulled away after going on an 18-2 scoring run and took a 46-18 lead into the fourth quarter.
McCollum scored six points for Heber Springs. Conner King and Matthew Kremers each had 12 points for Subiaco Academy.
Johnson said his team continued the battle against fatigue and lack of depth. He liked how his team played at Dardanelle with only five healthy players.
“The players played with a lot of heart, dug deep and showed a lot of character,” Johnson said. “Dardanelle parents told me how they were impressed how our players competed.”
Heber Springs (1-11 in conference, 1-21 overall) will complete the regular season at Morrilton and host Clarksville on Friday. The conference tournament is scheduled at Dardanelle on Feb. 17-22.
“Both games will be very challenging,” Johnson said. “We lost by five points at Clarksville.”
February 7th
SUBIACO ACADEMY AT HEBER SPRINGS
Subiaco Academy 11 17 18 8 - 54
Heber Springs 10 6 2 5 - 23
SUBIACO ACADEMY SCORING (54): Conner King 12, Matthew Kremers 12, Ivan Martijn 9, Paul Niba 6, Johnathan Mercera 5, John Ho 4, Jude Percy-Allen 2, Justin Luidens 2, Nathan Nguyen 2.
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (23): Dalton McCollum 6, Adam Martin 5, Wyatt Sanders 4, Austin Winchester 3, Garrett Hudspeth 2, Logan Monahan 2, Zach Thomas 1.
February 4th
HEBER SPRINGS AT DARDANELLE
Heber Springs 9 12 13 13 - 47
Dardanelle 19 14 15 19 - 67
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (47): Wyatt Sanders 18, Dalton McCollum 12, Adam Martin 10, Garrett Hudsepth 5, Austin Winchester 2
DARDANELLE SCORING (67): Blake Chambers 17, Tristan Broadway 12, Sam Williams 8, JT Meling 8, Marteez Jackson 6, Chris Martin 6, Clayton Potter 4, Jordan Metcalf 2, Titus Spencer 2, Nathaniel Griffiths 2
January 31
HEBER SPRINGS AT OZARK
Heber Springs 7 3 10 9 - 29
Ozark 17 17 14 12 - 60
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (29): Dalton McCollum 13, Wyatt Sanders 6, Austin Winchester 5, Gus Hannah 3, Garrett Hudspeth 2
OZARK SCORING (60): Corbin Pelts 12, Jaxson Harris 11, Sebastian Ross 10, Ethan Dorrough 9, Keystan Durning 7, Wyatt Clauson 4,Tanner Bailie 3, Kayden McAnally 2, Kirkland Quinton 2
