SSHS teams lose in Inola
Jerry Oquin Invitational wrapped up Saturday
INOLA, Okla. — The Siloam Springs boys basketball team is struggling to finish games and it came back to cost the Panthers on Saturday on the final day of the Jerry Oquin Invitational.
Siloam Springs saw a ninepoint lead late in the third quarter disappear and tournament host Inola (Okla.) rallied for a 7067 victory in the seventh-place game, which was played in the Longhorns’ practice gymnasium.
The Panthers finished the tournament with losses in all three games and dropped to 2-7 overall.
“It was three winnable games, and all three games we had chances and didn’t make really good decisions down the stretch with the ball,” said Siloam Springs head coach Tim Stewart. “There were defensive breakdowns and a lot of stuff that’s fixable, but the kids are really going to have to bear down and grind this little period out because we’re not able to close out games right now.”
Siloam Springs appeared to be in good shape down the stretch, taking a 58-49 lead in the third quarter after a basket from junior Spencer Lashley.
The Longhorns (2-3) closed the third quarter with six straight points to pull within 58-55 after a basket from Jayden Biggs and two
straight from Micah Bell.
The Longhorns briefly took the lead in the fourth on another basket by Biggs, but Siloam Springs answered with a 3-pointer from senior Harrison Kretzer to pull back ahead 61-59.
The Panthers made it 63-59 after a basket inside by Noah Karp. After Inola’s Brock Courtney hit a 3-pointer to make it 63-62, Kretzer grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to put the Panthers back up by three, 65-62.
The next six possessions, however, proved to be a nightmare for Siloam Springs.
The Panthers turned it over twice in a row and then had missed shots on the next two possessions. Karp was called for an offensive foul with 49.7 seconds left, and the Longhorns capitalized with baskets from Bell and Jacob Norman to take a 66-65 lead.
Another Siloam Springs turnover forced the Panthers to foul and Bell knocked down two free throws with 14.7 seconds left to give Inola a 68-65 lead.
The Longhorns, instead of allowing the Panthers to get a game-tying 3-pointer off, fouled senior Charlie Jones, who coolly knocked down a pair of free throws with 8.1 seconds left to make it 68-67.
The Panthers then fouled Courtney with 6.6 left, and he made it 70-67 with a pair at the line.
Siloam Springs turned the ball over on its final possession and was unable to get off a gametying attempt.
“Turnovers in late game situations, it’s been a struggle for us right now,” Stewart said. “Like we said early in the year, the only way to get better at it is to go through it.”
The loss was Siloam Springs’ fourth this season in close situations late in the game, including a 64-61 loss to Beggs, Okla., on Friday in the losers’ bracket semifinals The Panthers have also lost close games to Bentonville West and Rogers Heritage.
They did win a nailbiter in the seventh-place game of the Republic (Mo.) Tournament on Dec. 3 against Rolla (Mo.).
“Unfortunately through this point we haven’t been very successful going through the fire and the pressure of late-game scenarios,” Stewart said. “But we’re going to learn from it, watch film, the kids are going to keep working hard and we’ll progress. Unfortunately sometimes it’s a slow process.
“It’s turnovers — we turn the ball over way too much. Defensive assignments get lost in the heat of the battle in pressure situations and we’ve got to fix those things. We’ll go back and look at it and learn from it, and be better the next time.”
Saturday’s game against Inola was an exciting one from the start in the smaller compact Longhorns’ gym. Both teams shot the ball well with Inola hitting five 3-pointers in the first quarter and the Panthers hitting four treys.
The game was tied 2121 after the first quarter and 38-38 at halftime.
Jones, Karp and Lashley all scored 13 points apiece to lead Siloam Springs, while Josh Hunt had 12, Kretzer 10 and Omar Vazquez six to round out the Panthers’ scoring.
Bell led the Longhorns with 22 points, while Biggs had 14, Lance Jones 12 on four 3-pointers and Courtney 11.
Siloam Springs returned to action on Tuesday against Rogers in a nonconference game at Panther Activity Center. Results were not available at presstime.
The Panthers play at Oklahoma Class 3A perennial power Tahlequah Sequoyah on Friday.
“We’re going to have two challenging games next week,” Stewart said. “Our kids will be ready for that challenge. We’ll just keep working toward that ultimate goal of being at our best late in the season.”
NOTES: The boys basketball program didn’t notch a win at the Jerry Oquin Invitational last week, but it wasn’t a totally unsuccessful week for the Panthers. On Wednesday of last week, the Panthers junior varsity team traveled to Bentonville and picked up a victory over the Class 7A Tigers. An official scorebook was not available as of presstime, but the coaches were encouraged by the result. “Our kids played incredibly well on both sides of the ball,” said JV head coach Chris Cameron. “On the defensive side of the ball our rotations were excellent, and it was complimented by exceptional energy and effort. Offensively we really came together and strung together complete possessions with great ball movement and decision making. It was a solid overall performance for our kids. … Collectively as a group we really feel some guys are starting to make strides in their respective games. We have some guards who are really taking pride in running our team, and some post players who are starting to buy into physical play. We are seeing progress and are excited to see more progressions down the road.”