Slavens, Hornets rebound

Hackett’s Eli Slavens said he knew he and his Hornets were better than they had played in a conference loss early last week.

“It was really personal for us,” Slavens said. “To beat Elkins, the No. 2 team in the state, and then lose to a team with a losing record really upsets us and the coaches. We bounced back. We had the best practices.”

Hackett handed Elkins its first loss of the season in the championship game of the Bill Frye Invitational over Christmas break. Slavens scored 18 points and 91 for the three games in the tournament, to earn the Most Valuable Player award in the 58-50 win with forward Hayden Foster scoring 23 points.

Hackett then returned to 3A-4 Conference play with a 58-30 win over Two Rivers before a 48-41 loss at Paris, which entered the game 4-15 overall and 2-2 in the conference.

“You’ve got to be ready,” Hackett Coach Kent Elmore said. “I think we got our heads a little too high when we beat Elkins, the No. 2 team in the state. We played well that night, and then we came out and shot 20 percent. You’ve got to be able to shoot it to win in this league because most of these teams pride themselves on defense. If you can’t get to the rim and you can’t score, you’re going to struggle especially on the road.”

The Hornets bounced back with a 59-40 win over Cedarville, easing away from a 27-25 lead at the half against Frank Cluck’s Pirates.

“It was 27-25, Frank does a great job of game planning,” Elmore said. “They were without a starter, and who knows how the game goes if he’s got him with the way we struggled in the first half.”

The 3A-4 will get interesting in the final three weeks with Booneville and Charleston tied with Hackett atop the standings all with one loss, and Cossatot River just a game back on the loss side.

Hackett still has to play both Booneville and Charleston twice; at Booneville on Jan. 23 and at home on Jan. 31, then at home against Charleston on Jan. 29 and at Charleston on Feb. 9. Coupled with their regularly scheduled game at Two Rivers on Jan. 30, the Hornets will play three games in three days.

“We’ll play Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday of that week,” Elmore said. “We’ll be busy. Hopefully, we can stay healthy.”

Hackett will host the 3A-4 district tournament Feb. 12-16.

(River Valley Democrat-Ga-zette/Hank Layton) Van Buren’s Glavine McDonald (13) dribbles as Little Rock Hall’s Landen Hill (12) defends Dec. 29, 2023, during the Foster Roofing Holiday Classic at Southside Arena in Fort Smith. Van Buren was set to face Alma, the only other unbeaten 5A-West team, on Tuesday but the game was cancelled due to winter weather.