Shorthanded Cats fall to Hot Springs
Missing three starters, El Dorado boys basketball coach Gary Simmons might’ve felt like he brought a knife to a gun fight Friday night. Turned out, it wasn’t a massacre at all, although the Wildcats fell short against league-leading Hot Springs 71-66 at Wildcat Arena.
The Trojans improved to 15-2 overall and 3-0 in conference. El Dorado, which played without starters B.J. Johnson, Brendan Simmons and Alex Boone, fell to 5-9, 1-2.
The Trojans led 66-62 before Mason Lockhart dished to Jordan Tubbs for a bucket with 1:19 remaining. El Dorado’s ensuing defensive pressure produced a steal by Isaiah Ramey, who passed to big brother Joderrio Ramey, whose two-hand jam tied the game with 1:09 remaining.
Hot Springs regained the lead when Kaleb Hughley grabbed an offensive rebound and scored with 43.9 seconds left. The Wildcats looked to tie but Joderrio Ramey’s driving layup rolled around the rim but didn’t fall.
El Dorado fouled Santiair Thomas, who hit one free throw for a 69-66 lead with 27.5 seconds on the clock. The Wildcats went to Joderrio Ramey, who hit five of El Dorado’s nine 3-pointers in the game. But, his shot from the right wing was off the mark. The Wildcats scrambled for the loose ball but turned it over in the lane.
Hughley hit two at the line for the Trojans with 10.9 left to seal the win.
Joderrio Ramey left the game briefly after a hard fall with 5:53 left in the first quarter. He still finished with 23 points and 11 assists to lead the Wildcats.
“I don’t think he ever got back to a hundred percent. I think he probably played the rest of the night at 70 percent,” said El Dorado coach Gary Simmons. “He gutted it out and got
his teammates involved. I thought last night that Joderrio was a complete point guard. We talked about it early. We told the kids, Joe is not going to be able to go out and score 70. We’re all going to have to step up on (defense). We’re all going to have to help. And, when he gives the ball up and puts you in positions to hit shots, you’ll have to hit shots.”
Johnson, who went down with a hip injury against J.A. Fair, is scheduled to see the doctor on Monday. Coach Simmons hopes Johnson and Brendan Simmons will be back on the court by Tuesday.
Going into Friday’s game, he said the entire team knew it had its hands full.
“We had two real good days of game prep, knowing what we didn’t have,” said Simmons. “Kids just decided, we needed little things, all of us can contribute where we can. As long as we play hard and do the little things, we’re going to be in the game.”
Lockhart finished with nine points while Jarmel Love and Isaiah Ramey each scored eight. Love and Tyler Everette had six boards apiece.
“I thought Jordan Tubbs gave us some great minutes. I thought Isaiah brought great energy. I thought everybody that got in contributed,” Simmons said. “Mason had a good night shooting the ball but I thought he did a really good job taking care of the ball. I thought the bench, when they weren’t in, stayed into the game and were excited about what we were trying to do. Emotions were high and they all came through brilliantly, I thought.”
Thomas led the Trojans with 20 points. J.J. Walker and Caleb Campbell contributed 13 and 12, respectively. Jabari Wright, a 6-foot-8 freshman, had eight points off the bench and was a load for El Dorado’s depleted frontcourt to handle.
“The 6-8 kid bothered us late,” said Simmons. “We were in foul trouble, tried to take a couple of charges on him.”
Despite Friday’s loss, the coach was in a positive mood on Saturday. He said he’s looking forward to getting more of his weapons holstered. Plus, he might’ve discovered a few more tools for the future.
“I’m extremely happy,” he said. “I think if we practice and play with that energy the rest of the season, I think we’ll qualify for state. I think we’ll make a good showing.”