CONWAY – The second quarter proved the difference as Conway St. Joseph outscored Heber Springs 17-8 and held on for a 37-30 victory in pool play from the St. Joseph tournament at the Family Activities Center.
Heber Springs led 8-6 after the first quarter, but trailed 33-23 heading into the final period.
CONWAY ST. JOSEPH SCORING (37): Jacob Williams 8, Jake Hill 6, Luke Pope 11, Zach Tucker 1, Luke Briggler 5, Michael Longing 6.
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (30): Gavin Vaughn 5, Eli Riggs 8, Ryan Crocker 9, J.T. Spears 3, Parker Brown 5.
Monday’s nonconference baseball match with Conway St. Joseph turned into one of those kind of days that the Heber Springs Panthers will try and forget quickly.
Playing for the first time in 10 days, the Panthers resumed the schedule and lost to St. Joseph 15-1 at the Heber Springs Sports Complex.
The game ended on the 10-run rule after five innings.
“It turned into one of those days when the wheels completely fell off,” Heber Springs coach Monterio May said. “We practiced for the past four days, but we have a lot of rust to get rid of.”
St. Joseph scored one run during the first inning and two more runs in the second. The Bulldogs broke the game open by scoring 11 runs during the third and added one run in the fifth.
The Panthers avoided a shutout in the bottom of the fifth.
Cole Payton was hit by a pitch and Conner Riddle walked. St. Joseph turned a double play as Payton reached third base. Kenan Sneed followed with an RBI single, scoring Payton from third base.
The Panthers (2-3 in 4-4A Conference, 3-5 overall) were scheduled to play at Ozark on Tuesday and at Morrilton on Thursday. Heber Springs will play Woodlawn and Rose Bud at Rose Bud on Saturday.
St. Joseph 13(11) 01–15 9 2 Heber Springs 000 01–1 4 4 St. Joseph hitters — Nicholas French single, double, 2 RBIs; Collin Coney 2 singles; Luke Pope single, 3 RBIs; Max Longing single, 2 RBIs; Caleb Mallett single, 1 RBI; Jared Sanders single, 1 RBI; Gabriel Stobaugh single; Luke Brigger 1 RBI; Cole Garner 1 RBI. St. Joseph pitchers — Cole Garner (W) 4 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts in 5 innings. Heber Springs hitters — Kenan Sneed 2 singles, 1 RBI; Matthew Cook single; Garrett Hudspeth single. Heber Springs pitchers — Xander Lindley (L, 0-2) 6 hits, 6 runs, 5 earned runs, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts in 2 innings; Mathew Cook 1 hit, 3 earned runs, 2 walks in 0 innings; Gage Buford 2 hits, 5 runs, 4 earned runs, 2 walks in .1 inning; Corbin Jones 0 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 1 strikeout in 2.2 innings.
Heber Springs’ Conner Riddle runs into a Conway St. Joseph defender in action Tuesday night from the Panther Den. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY
Heber Springs never successfully solved Conway St. Joseph’s change of defense during the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s nonconference basketball game at the Panther Den.
St. Joseph went on a 21-7 fourth quarter scoring run and defeated the Panthers, 43-33.
Heber Springs led 18-16 at halftime and took a 26-24 lead into the fourth quarter.
“St. Joseph made defensive adjustments against what we were doing in the first half at halftime,” Heber Springs coach Dusty West said. “They were playing a 2-3 zone and a soft man-to-man defense during the first half. They switched to a full-court man defense and forced us to play at a different pace during the second half. We took a lot of quick shots and were held to seven points in the fourth quarter.”
West said work remains on the team’s conditioning, so the players can maintain that pace for four quarters.
“We looked tired and fouled too much,” he said. “We have been working on our conditioning. St. Joseph’s man defense made a difference in the fourth quarter. We were getting good shots in the second quarter, but we didn’t do that during the second half.”
St. Joseph built an 11-5 lead and increased it to 14-5 by early in the second quarter.
Conner Riddle led the Heber Springs’ rally, scoring eight points, while Ryan Crocker made a 3-pointer and Austin Winchester scored as Heber Springs led 18-16 at halftime.
The Panthers kept the momentum at the start of the second half and led 26-22 going into the fourth quarter.
Riddle scored 17 points for Heber Springs. Luke Bruich led St. Joseph with 18 points.
“Conner had a good game,” West said. “He handled the ball and the pressure of bringing the ball up well. I’m proud of how he played. The team keeps improving overall, but we let this game get away from us. We led going into the fourth quarter and had a change at winning.”
Heber Springs (1-5) will play Riverview in Searcy at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
“Riverview will be a challenge,” West said. “It will be a different style of game because Riverview will play at a faster pace. We are giving a great effort, and that is all you can ask from them.”
Conway St. Joseph 11 5 6 21–43 Heber Springs 5 13 8 7–33 Conway St. Joseph scorers — Luke Bruich 18, Luke Pope 8, Jake Hill 7, Jacob Williams 6, Gage Kordsmeier 3, Matt Brorman 1. Heber Springs scorers — Conner Riddle 17, Ryan Crocker 6, Austin Winchester 4, Gus Hannah 3, Logan Monahan 3.
Heber Springs dropped a pair of nonconference contests to end the week.
On Friday, the Panthers traveled to Marshall and were handed a 69-43 setback to the Bobcats.
On Thursday, Heber Springs got 33 points from Adam Martin in a losing effort dropping a 64-53 decision to South Side Bee Branch – its second loss to the Hornets in a week after falling to South Side Bee Branch on December 5 at the St. Joseph tournament.
In the rematch, Martin was 16-of-18 from the free-throw line on the night and scored 23 of his 33 points in the second half. Martin had 21 when the two teams squared off in Conway.
South Side Bee Branch’s Sevan Hurt led scorers with 36 points.
Heber Springs will travel to White County Central tonight for a nonconference contest.
HEBER SPRINGS SENIOR BOYS BOXSCORES
December 12 at South Side Bee Branch
South Side Bee Branch 20 14 15 15 - 64
Heber Springs 6 17 13 17 - 53
SOUTH SIDE BEE BRANCH SCORING (64): Sevan Hurt 36, Parker Knapp 7, Brody Smith 6, Parker Hutchins 6, Stephen Walthall 5, Gage Johnston 2, David Justus 2
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (53): Adam Martin 33, Wyatt Sanders 6, Dalton McCollum 6, Gus Hannah 2, Garrett Hudspeth 2, Logan Monahan 2, Ryan Crocker 2
December 5 at Conway St. Joseph Tournament
South Side Bee Branch 16 15 8 11 - 50
Heber Springs 9 18 8 14 - 49
SOUTH SIDE BEE BRANCH (50): Sevan Hart 27, Parker Knapp 6, Parker Hutchins 5, Stephen Walthall 3, Ayden Griffith 3, Reece Beard 2, Kyle Evans 2, Brody Smith 2
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (49): Adam Martin 21, Garrett Hudspeth 11, Logan Monahan 6, Ryan Crocker 5, Dalton McCollum 4, Wyatt Sanders 2
December 3 at Conway St. Joseph Tournament
Conway St. Joseph 8 13 11 12 - 44
Heber Springs 8 5 4 4 - 21
CONWAY ST. JOSEPH SCORING (44): Luke Pope 13, John McKenna 6, Hunter Watkins 6, Luke Briggler 6, Luke Bruch 5, Caleb Hiegel 4, Ryan Davis 2, Gage Kordsmeier 2
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (21): Adam Martin 6, Dalton McCollum 6, Wyatt Sanders 3, Logan Monahan 3, Ryan Crocker 2, Garret Hudsepth 1
HEBER SPRINGS SENIOR BOYS BASKETBALL
2019-2020 SCHEDULE RESULTS
RECORD: 1-64A-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 12 - South Side Bee Branch 64, Heber Springs 53
December 13 - Marshall 69, Heber Springs 43
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)
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