Heritage getting on track

War Eagles Coach Tom Olsen said he was pleased with the way his team maneuvered through the nonconference schedule, but Rogers Heritage is looking to get back on track after back-toback losses in 6A-West Conference play.

“We finished 8-6 in what I’d say was a pretty competitive nonconference schedule,” Olsen said. “Going into the season if you would have said ‘You’re going to make it through that nonconference eight and six then I would have said ‘I’ll take it.’”

But Heritage (9-9, 1-3 6A-West) saw a fourthquarter lead slip away at home against Bentonville.

“We were tied 44-44 with about a minute left and they had to shoot a desperation shot at the end of the shot clock that hit the rim and went off Ben Manuel’s hands out of bounds,” Olsen said. “Then they score an and-one on the out of bounds play, and then we came up empty on the next possession. That was a bit of a heartbreaker.”

Olsen said teams like Fayetteville and Springdale are likely picked to finish at the top of the league standings, but after the first two or three, it could be be a bit of a logjam making every game important.

He acknowledged letting a possible win slip away against Bentonville could be a difference whether his team makes the state tournament or not. But the War Eagles have to press ahead.

Manuel, a 6-foot-4 senior swingman, is leading the way offensively for Heritage, averaging around 20 points per game. But Olsen said a difference could likely be finding some more consistent scoring from sources other than Manuel.

Several other players have the capability to provide some of that added scoring punch such as 6-1 junior Ryan Wassman, who saw playing time as a sophomore. In addition, senior Braxton Wachholtz (6-4) moved in from California and Jordan Dipley (6-1), who was slowed by a shoulder injury a year ago, hit five 3-pointers in a loss to Springdale.