Eagles shoot down Panthers
HUNTSVILLE — Huntsville’s hot shooting early put Siloam Springs’ boys in an early doubledigit hole, which the Panthers ultimately were not able to dig their way out.
Siloam Springs cut a once 14-point Huntsville lead down to one with a little more than two minutes left in the fourth quarter, but the Eagles finished the game on a 9-3 run to close out a 59-52 victory on Colors Day at Charles Berry Gymnasium.
The Panthers (1-3) trailed by double digits after each of the first three quarters and it wasn’t until the fourth where they began to cut into the Eagles’ lead.
“Our defense wasn’t very good and Huntsville got hot early and was able to build a 12-point lead at halftime,” said Siloam Springs coach Tim Stewart.
“We came out the third quarter and did well, cut into the lead and was able to come back in the fourth and cut it to one. Give Huntsville a lot of credit. They made the tough plays and shots down the stretch to win the game.”
Huntsville’s Troy Lambert came off the bench to light up the Panthers for 11 points in the second quarter alone.
Huntsville led 21-15 and Lambert scored eight straight points as Huntsville went up 29-17.
The Eagles led 31-19 at halftime and 46-36 going into the fourth quarter.
Huntsville led 50-41 in the fourth after a Hayden Dodson basket, but Siloam Springs went on an 8-0 run to close the lead to 50-49 with 2:03 left.
Nate Vachon buried a 3-pointer at the top of the key and then converted a three-point play to make it 50-47.
Josh Stewart scored on a putback to cut the lead to 50-49, but Huntsville got back up 52-49 with two free throws from Dodson.
Stewart missed a game-tying 3-point attempt on the next trip down and Huntsville’s Mason Davidson converted a three-point play for a 55-49 lead. The Eagles (5-0) hit 4 of 6 free throws down the stretch.
“We’re not real big but we play real hard. We’ve got good shooters and good ball handlers,” said Huntsville acting coach Greg McCone. “When you’ve got strong guards like we do, you can do some things if you hit some shots.”
McCone, who is the girls head coach, coached the boys team as head coach Grant Myrick or assistant River Gosvener were not in attendance.
Lambert led the Eagles with 16 points, while Davidson and Dodson each had 13 and Matthew Sisk 11.
Josh Stewart led Siloam Springs with 21 points, while Carter Winesburg and Dalton Newman each had 10, Vachon six and Brendan Lashley five.
The Panthers are back in action Tuesday against Fort Gibson (Okla.) in the opening round of the Jerry Oquin Invitational in Inola, Okla.
“We have a good group and are going to be very good this year,” Tim Stewart said. “We just need some time and a few more games. Huntsville is a very good team.”
“We would like to have balanced scoring between the three to four main scorers and everybody else chipping in some,” Rippy said. “When we do that we can be pretty effective. I think we need to finish better obviously around the rim. We had our moments where we did and then we had some moments where we didn’t.”
Siloam Springs will now head to Inola, Okla., on Tuesday for the Jerry Oquin Invitational, where the Lady Panthers will play host Inola.
“I expect them to be tough,” Rippy said.
“And then I already know if we are fortunate enough to win we are going to get a real doozy in the second round in Holland Hall. They’ve got a legitimate Division I point guard in my opinion, and then they were in the state championship game last year.”
Siloam Springs 52, Huntsville 34
Siloam Springs 14 14 16 8 — 52 Huntsville 5 7 12 10 — 34
Siloam Springs (5-0): Ross 11, Jacklik 9, Smith 8, Tiefel 7, Keehn 7, Johnson 4, Wleklinski 2, Stephenson 2, Pfeifer 2.
Huntsville (4-3): Howerton 7, Pillow 6, Harriman 6, Limson 4, Wilson 4, Kirk 4, Routh 3.