Cobras hold off Badgers at Lambert
FOUNTAIN LAKE — Fountain Lake got out to a strong start and held on late to defeat Arkadelphia 52-48 at Sammy Lambert Court at Irvin J. Bass Gymnasium Tuesday.
“We got out of the gate real strong, and so it’s obviously always good to come out strong and build a lead,” said Fountain Lake head coach Jake Dettmering. “I thought we kind of adjusted and made plays when it counted late.”
With the Cobras (15-2, 5-1 4A-7) leading 29-22 over the Badgers (9-4, 3-1) to start the second half, Arkadelphia junior Ryan Harris hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 4. Senior Will Drakes answered with a bucket off the drive for the Cobras, but senior Courtlon Crow hit two consecutive baskets inside to cut the Cobras’ lead to 2, leading to Dettmering to call a timeout.
Sophomore Evan East kickstarted a Cobras run with a
3-pointer as sophomore Colby Lambert and Drakes helped push the Cobras out to an
11-point lead with 2 minutes to
go in the third. Harris answered for Arkadelphia with the 3-point play followed by a bucket from Crow to pull within six going into the final eight minutes.
Junior Nazjay Lambert put the Badgers on the board to start the fourth with a pair from the line as Crow added 4 more points for a quick 6-0 run. Junior Landin Kizer answered for the Cobras with a pair of free throws. With both sides putting up intense, full-court defensive pressure, the Cobras led 48-46 with just under a minute left to play.
Junior Michael Moore threw the ball in on a deep pass to senior Jon Farley for a layup to push back out to a 4-point spread, but Harris had a layup off an assist from Nazjay Lambert to pull within 50-48 with 16.6 seconds left. Colby Lambert was sent to the line in the final seconds, icing the game with a pair of free throws to set the final
“We made some free throws there at the end and had a home run play (Moore’s inbound pass to Farley) that helped to kind of extend the lead, and so we just toughened up throughout the game,” said Dettmering. “So, you know, coming out with some boards and making some baskets and timely shots — but the energy at the start and then adjusting and responding throughout the game because, you know, it felt like we responded with a run every time they went on a run and just of maintain that lead.”
Arkadelphia head coach Donald Williams was disappointed with his team’s poor shooting.
“We shoot, as a team, shoot a little bit better than we shot tonight,” he said. “We missed some shots around the basket, and it just wasn’t our night. We didn’t play well, but I think Fountain Lake had a lot to do with that. They played really well. They’re a good ball club, and we knew that coming over here. It’s a tough place to play, but I feel like we, you know, we dug ourselves a hole, but I felt we’d gotten back out of it and made a good game out of it. But I’m pleased with the effort from the kids, so we’ve just got to keep plugging away.”
Drakes got the Cobras on the board to start the match with a personal 4-0 spurt. Nazjay Lambert answered for the Badgers off the drive, but Drakes responded with a trey after a free throw from Moore to give the Cobras an 8-2 lead with 4:45 to go in the opening quarter. Harris answered for the Badgers by finding Buckley in the lane and Nazjay Lambert tacked on a pair of free throws to cut the lead back to 2.
The Cobras then went on a 9-2 run to take a 17-8 lead into the second quarter. Arkadelphia junior Antoine Palmer started off the second with a steal and layup, but Colby Lambert got hot for the Cobras by hitting 6 consecutive shots to push Fountain Lake to a 24-12 lead.
Kizer added to the lead with a 10-foot jumper as Cole Echols hit another trey for a 29-14 lead with 3 minutes to go in the half. Harris answered for Arkadelphia with back-to-back scores off the foul, and Palmer tacked on a jumper to keep the Badgers in the game at 35 seconds.
Lambert led the Cobras with 14 points, four rebounds and one steal while Drakes put up 13 points with three rebounds and a steal. Echols added 9 points and two rebounds, Moore had 5 points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal, Farley had 4 points, five rebounds and an assist, Kizer had 4 points and a rebound, and East had 2 points, three rebounds and a steal.
Harris led the Badgers with
16 points, four rebounds, two steals and one assist. Crow had
14 points and six rebounds, Lambert had 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals, Palmer had 6 points, three steals and a pair of rebounds, and senior Kobe Buckley had 4 points with two rebounds.
• Fountain Lake also won the junior varsity game 26-16.
After the Badgers jumped on top 7-0 to open the 20-minute match, the Cobras answered with a 7-0 run themselves to knot it and take an 11-9 lead at the 9:50 mark before ultimately claiming victory.
Cole Echols led the Cobras with 12 points, three rebounds and steal while Kobe Combs added 7 points, two rebounds and three steals. Evan East had 5 points, two rebounds and a steal and Michael Moore had 2 points and two rebounds.
Kobe Buckley led the Badgers with 6 points, three rebounds and two steals. Chase Langstaff had 4 points, five rebounds and two blocks, Isaiah Salinas had 2 points and two rebounds and Chis Gray had 2 points, a rebound and an assist.
Fountain Lake will host Mena for homecoming Friday while Arkadelphia hosts DeQueen at Badger Gymnasium.