Senior stepping up
Lashley’s making big plays in many ways for the Panthers.
A flu-ridden Tim Stewart paced nervously back and forth in his living room Friday night, watching from his computer as the Siloam Springs boys basketball team made its comeback at Farmington.
About 30 miles away at Cardinal Arena, Spencer Lashley stepped up and made big play after big play for the Panthers.
Lashley, a 6-foot-2 senior forward for Siloam Springs, scored 23 points and helped key a 71-65 Siloam Springs victory in overtime over the Cardinals in a 5A/6A District 1 game on Friday.
“Nobody really stopped fighting,” Lashley said of the victory. “Like I said in the paper (Siloam Sunday), we had proven to ourselves we could do it, and we just kind of clicked. We were all on the same page. We made some crucial stops when we needed it the most.”
Lashley hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 38 seconds left to tie the game 61-61 after Siloam Springs trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half.
Lashley then partially blocked a shot by Farmington’s Peyton Maxwell and got the rebound as time expired as the Panthers forced overtime.
In overtime, Lashley grabbed five more rebounds and hit seven straight free throws as the Panthers won their fourth league game of the season.
“As I paced through the living room, it was exciting. It was really fun to see,” Stewart said. “Watching on the computer, you’re not aware of all the things. You can’t see the time. You don’t know who’s in foul trouble, all those little intricate details. But it was easy to see down the stretch that we outworked the opponent and Spencer was a big presence in that.”
Lashley has lived up to the expectations placed on him before the season by the coaches, Stewart said.
He came into the year as the Panthers’ most experienced player from last year. He also was the team’s tallest at 6-foot-2.
Lashley said he’s accepted the mentality of trying to do what’s best for the team.
“I’ve just been trying to play hard,” Lashley said. “I’ve been kind of playing everywhere. I’ve just been telling myself to play as hard as I can when I’m in the game. It kind of just comes together.”
Through 22 games, Lashley leads the Panthers with 12.5 points per game. He’s also among the team’s leaders in rebounding (3.6 boards per game) and 3-point shooting, having hit 45 of 112 (40.1 percent) from behind the arc.
“We have been really excited about Spencer’s growth throughout the course of the season,” Stewart said. “Obviously there are ups and downs throughout the season and there’s adversity. We’ve been so proud of his maturity in handling it and handling the coaching and the growth moments throughout the entire season. He’s put himself in a really good spot — in a place that against Farmington he could step up and be the man and make big shots down the stretch.”
Lashley has scored in double figures in 16 of the Panthers’ 22 games, and his 23 points against Farmington were a career-high at any level, he said. Lashley hopes he’s making a difference for not only his senior teammates but the younger group of Panthers as well that have seen key minutes.
“I’ve used some of my experiences to help me not only play better myself but to help lead the guys that are having to step up this year and try to help them get ready for next year,” he said.
But this year’s not over and the Panthers still have plenty of season left with a chance at making the Class 6A state tournament. Heading into Tuesday night’s home game against Harrison, the Panthers (6-16, 4-3) were in the thick of things in their conference. Siloam Springs plays at Clarksville on Friday night.
“We’ve proven we can play well against everybody else in our conference,” Lashley said. “It’s just a matter of coming together.”