Cobras cruise past Badgers in revenge game
FOUNTAIN LAKE — Fountain Lake dominated from the opening tip in the Cobras’ 64-41 revenge win over Arkadelphia at Irvin J. Bass Gymnasium Tuesday night.
The Badgers (21-2, 12-1 4A-7) traveled to Fountain Lake on a 21game unbeaten run and boasted a perfect record in conference play. The Cobras’ only league loss of the season was a 47-43 defeat on the road at Arkadelphia after a 13-day hiatus for Fountain Lake.
Bass Gymnasium was filled to the brim in anticipation for a close game, but Fountain Lake (23-2, 11-1) never looked troubled in the contest.
“I think the statement was that we’re the defending conference champs, and you’ve got to go through us to win a conference championship,” Fountain Lake head coach Jake Dettmering said. “That win put us even in the standings as far as losses. … It put us back in the race as conference champs to repeat.”
Fountain Lake started the game extremely fast. The Cobras held an 18-9 lead at the end of the first quarter before a Landin Kizer 3-pointer in the second quarter gave Fountain Lake a 2513 edge and forced Arkadelphia into a timeout. By halftime, the Cobras led 38-23.
“Kids came out of the gate strong with good energy,” Dettmering said. “They executed stuff well. It always helps when you make shots. The execution was on point especially in the first quarter and most of the first half really. The execution and just the good energy, and they’re very sharp and crisp with the stuff we’re trying to run.”
Arkadelphia head coach Garret Garner emphasized just how well Fountain Lake shot the ball.
“Man, they shot lights out,” he said. “I give credit to them, playing at home, great environment. They weren’t shooting necessarily uncontested. I mean, we were right there. They just knocked down some tough shots and kind of just snowballed after that so credit to them.”
The Cobras continued their hot streak in the second half when Evan East started the third quarter with a quick drive to the basket for an easy layup to give the Cobras a 40-23 lead.
After Arkadelphia’s Courtlon Crow slammed home a transition dunk, Kizer answered with a mid-range jumper to stretch Fountain Lake’s lead to 42-25.
“We shot good,” Dettmering said. “We usually shoot better in our home gym obviously, but yeah that’s what I’m saying. When shots go in, it makes everything look a lot better. We definitely shot good, but I think that just showed the focus and intensity and how much the kids wanted it. They were ready for that game. They wanted a rematch with them after they beat us at their place.”
On the defensive end of the floor, Kizer tried to draw a charge but was called for a blocking foul that sent Ryan Harris to the line. Harris scored both his free throws to pull the Badgers within 15 points.
After a Fountain Lake turnover, James Elgas was fouled driving to the basket. However, Elgas missed both his free throws as the Badgers struggled to pick up momentum.
Later in the third quarter, Nazjay Lambert drove hard to the basket, and Fountain Lake’s Caleb Carter tried to draw a charge. The senior was called for a blocking foul and Nazjay Lambert finished at the rim before missing the free throw that would have completed a 3-point play.
After Arkadelphia’s Isaiah Salinas grabbed an offensive rebound, he was fouled on his putback attempt. The senior knocked down both of his free throws to trim Fountain Lake’s lead to 44-31.
Although the fouls did not
affect the outcome of the game, Dettmering said his team fouled too much.
“Defense we played hard,” he said. “We fouled a little bit too much but played hard. We tried to key on their personnel. They did a good job with the scouting report. Energy was good, just fouled a little bit too much.”
After Salinas’ two free throws, Carter answered with a 3-pointer to increase Fountain Lake’s lead to 16 points.
Arkadelphia’s Antoine Palmer missed a jumper before Colby Lambert got fouled on the opposite end of the court. The junior made both his free throws for a 49-31 Fountain Lake edge.
Sending the crowd into a frenzy at the end of the third quarter, East scored a buzzer-beating tipin to give the Cobras a 20-point lead heading into the game’s final eight minutes.
Colby Lambert drained a trey with 6:41 to play in the game before Salinas responded with a putback.
With Fountain Lake leading 56-33, Kizer shot a 3-pointer, missed and grabbed his own rebound before finishing at the rim.
Colby Lambert would score Fountain Lake’s final points of the game with a reverse layup, and late in the fourth quarter, the junior went down with what at first appeared to be a serious injury.
However, Lambert came back into the game to close out the contest.
“He’ll be fine,” Dettmering said. “I think he just had a bad cramp — a high energy game. Him and Juan (Diggs) both cramped up there in the fourth quarter so I think he’ll be fine. He came back in there late and finished the game.”
Kizer’s 17-point performance led the Cobras in scoring, Colby Lambert followed closely with 16 points and East scored 13 for Fountain Lake. The Cobras also went a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line.
“I think we’ve been trending in the right direction,” Dettmering said. “That’s the biggest win we’ve had in conference, obviously. You know, knocking off the No. 1 team going into this game. I think we’ve been trending in the right direction the last several games, so I just hope we keep that up and peak when we get to postseason.”
Palmer led the Badgers with 12 points, and Nazjay Lambert scored 11 for Arkadelphia. The last time that the Badgers had lost a game before Tuesday night was a 65-60 loss to Lakeside in Arkadelphia’s first game of the season.
With the postseason on the horizon, the loss to Fountain Lake could be a wake up call for the Badgers.
“The message in the locker room from our seniors was, ‘We probably needed that,’” Garner said. “We’ve won 21 in a row to this point, and the guys have not necessarily taken it for granted, but we’ve forgotten what this felt like. We haven’t felt this since the first game of the season. It was a good experience for us tonight and a good learning experience. It’ll light a fire under us, I can promise you.”