Bombs away
Jones lights up Mountain Home for 25 points
MOUNTAIN HOME — After both Siloam Springs and Mountain Home traded 3-pointers throughout the first half, the host Bombers went cold in the third quarter, while Siloam Springs’ Charlie Jones was just getting warmed up.
Jones scored 12 of his gamehigh 25 points in the third as the Panthers rolled to a 63-43 victory over the Bombers on Friday night at The Hangar.
Mountain Home sophomore Luke Jackson hit five first-half 3-pointers to keep the Bombers within nine at the half, but Jones went on a personal 10-0 run at one point in the third period.
“We’ve got some kids who can shoot it,” Siloam Springs head coach Tim Stewart said.
“We don’t want to hurry down and shoot a quick 3, but we want it to be in rhythm.”
Meanwhile, the Bombers struggled, going almost the entire third quarter without a field goal. Nick Stone made a pair of free throws, but the Bombers did not make a field goal until Jackson hit his sixth 3 of the night with :32 left, after the damage had been done.
Jones’ personal run pushed the Panthers’ 38-27 lead to 48-27, and Siloam Springs held a 48-30 advantage going into the fourth.
Josh Hunt added 15 for the Panthers, while Jackson led Mountain Home with 20, including four firstquarter treys.
“Early in the game, we tried to make some adjustments on (Jackson),” Stewart said, “because he hit some from outer space. We have a young team and didn’t make the adjustments really well. So, we came back and just played our normal defense and said ‘if he hits them, he hits them.’ ”
Siloam Springs hit three 3-pointers of its own in the opening quarter. The Panthers had a 13-7 lead when Jackson hit his second trey, and Siloam Springs’ Hunt answered with a 3 for a 1610 advantage.
Jackson nailed another 3, but Jones answered to make it 19-13. Jackson hit a long 3 for his third straight made trey to bring the Bombers within three to end the period.
Spencer Lashley and Hunt each hit 3-pointers early in the second as the Panthers grew their lead to 27-18 with 4:44 left in the half.
Jackson answered yet again, this time pulling up from 28 feet and knocking down an even longer 3 to climb within six.
A jumper by Garrett Dietsche pulled the Bombers as close as 29-25 when Jones finished the half with five straight for the Panthers, who took a 34-25 advantage into the half.
Siloam Springs hosts Rogers Heritage on Monday.
Siloam Springs 63, Mountain Home 43 Siloam Springs 19 15 14 15 — 63 Mountain Home 16 9 5 13 — 43 Siloam Springs (1-1): Jones 25, Hunt 15, Lashley 9, Kretzler 8, Karp 4, Heinrichs 2. Mountain Home (0-2): Jackson 20, Dietsche 8, Stone 6, Beshears 5, McDonald 2, Peters 2.
Bentonville West 59, Siloam Springs 55
The first varsity boys basketball game in Bentonville West’s history will go down as a classic — and a Wolverines victory.
West rallied from a five-point deficit in the fourth quarter and finished on a 12-3 run to defeat Siloam Springs 59-55 in a nonconference game Tuesday at Panther Arena.
“The first game in school history in a tough environment, I thought we made some toughness plays,” said West head coach Greg White. “One of the blueprints of our program is going to be toughness. Our kids showed great resolve tonight.”
The Wolverines (1-0) trailed 52-47 midway through the fourth quarter after Harrison Kretzer scored on a putback for Siloam Springs.
West responded with a 6-0 run to take a 53-52 lead, including five straight points from Collier Blackburn.
Siloam Springs tied the game at 53 on a Noah Karp free throw, but West took the lead for good on a free throw from Cobe Muldrew, and Gabe Hornsby followed up with a basket for a 56-53 lead.
After a West turnover and trailing 57-55, Siloam Springs had a chance to tie with 22 seconds left, but Josh Hunt was called for traveling and the Wolverines got the ball back.
West was able to beat Siloam Springs’ pressure and the Panthers were unable to foul in time as Levi Rutherford scored in the last seconds to set the final score.
Hornsby and Muldrew, who scored the first points in West history, each scored 13 points, while Blackburn had 12. Noah Karp led Siloam Springs (0-1) with 18 points before fouling out. Hunt and Kretzer each had nine for the Panthers.
“We gave ourselves an opportunity to win it right there at the end,” said Siloam Springs coach Tim Stewart. “I know we have seniors, but this is a young team experience-wise. You’ve got to go through the battles. We did everything but win the game.”
Bentonville West 59, Siloam Springs 55 Bentonville West 17 14 11 17 — 59 Siloam Springs 11 14 18 12 — 59 Bentonville West: Hornsby 13, Muldrew 13, Blackburn 12, Ray 6, Larsen 4, Rutherford 4, Barrow 4, Hill 3. Siloam Springs: Karp 18, Lashley 9, Hunt 9, Heinrichs 8, Kretzer 6, Jones 5.