Buzzer beater sinks Panthers
The Siloam Springs boys basketball team took a swing at league-leading Russellville on Tuesday, only to have its upset bid fall short at the very last second.
Russellville’s Jackson Shafer scored on a putback of his own missed tip shot at the buzzer as the Cyclones escaped Panther Activity Center with a 51-49 victory to remain unbeaten in 5AWest Conference play.
“We played a tremendous ballclub tonight and made a lot of
plays and played our guts out,” said Siloam Springs coach Tim Stewart. “It is hard to see the kids come up one possession short, but we’ll learn a lot from that and we’ve already learned from it. I think we have a group that is fired up to keep working and keep getting better.”
Evan Sauer knocked down a pair of free throws with 1 minute, 28 seconds remaining to tie the score at 49.
The Cyclones took possession of the basketball and held the ball for several seconds before trying to dribble outside the circle and make Siloam Springs’ defense chase.
As the clock ticked inside 10 seconds, Russellville’s Trey Allen drove and kicked to shooter Kade Shaffer on the far wing for a 3-pointer.
Shaffer’s 3-pointer missed, but Shafer tipped the ball back at the basket. Shafer’s first tip missed, but he was able to control the second carom and score as time expired, giving the Cyclones the victory.
“What a play by Jackson Shafer,” said Russellville coach Kyle Pennington. “We talk about crashing the offensive boards and he did it and put that sucker in the hole and won.”
The win kept the Cyclones (16-4, 6-0) unbeaten in 5A-West Conference play heading into Friday’s home game against Little Rock Christian, which suffered its first conference loss 79-68 at Siloam Springs on Jan. 24.
Russellville took a heavy punch from Siloam Springs early in Tuesday’s game as the Panthers rolled out to a 19-12 first quarter lead.
Landon Ward hit a 3-pointer to give the Panthers a 9-9 lead and Ward, Sauer, Drew Vachon and Josh Stewart would all add baskets later in the quarter to contribute to their good start.
The Cyclones settled in during the second quarter and cut the Panthers’ lead to 28-27 at hafltime. Sayvion Brock scored twice, including a dunk. Taelon Peter hit a 3-pointer later in the quarter and Shafer scored inside as Russellville pulled within one.
“Coach Stewart did a heck of a job. His guys were ready. They were ready to roll,” Pennington said. “They punched us in the mouth in the first quarter. Really proud of our kids though in the second quarter of responding to that and getting going. That second quarter was huge to us.”
Russellville went on a 9-2 tear to open the third quarter to take a 36-30 lead, but Siloam Springs cut it to 38-37 entering the fourth quarter.
Sauer canned a 3-pointer in the corner as part of that run and Josh Stewart scored inside to get the Panthers close.
Siloam Springs took a pair of 3-point leads in the fourth on treys from Josh Stewart and Carter Winesburg — both sophomores — but Russellville answered each time and took its own lead 49-45 after a putback by Brock and a score inside by Allen.
Sauer’s driving basket cut the lead to 49-47 and the Panthers forced a turnover to set up Sauer’s gametying free throws with 1:28 left.
“That’s one of the best teams in the state and our kids really battled and we’re really proud of them,” Tim Stewart said.
The Panthers coach said playing well against Russellville should give added confidence to the Panthers moving forward.
“It drives home the point that we’ve got a crew that will really battle and play hard and play together and find ways to make things happen against all odds and against adversity and all this stuff,” Tim Stewart said. “As a coach that’s all you can ask and our kids have been putting it out there.”
Shaffer hit a pair of early 3-pointers and led Russellville with 12 points, while Shafer had 11 and Brock 10.
“On the road it’s going to be tough in this conference,” Pennington said. “(The Panthers) just beat Little Rock Christian here by double digits. That’s a really good basketball team as well. Two-point win or 22-point win, we just want the W, and these guys in this locker room, they did.”
Ward led the Panthers with 14 points, while Josh Stewart had 12, Sauer 11, Vachon 9 and Winesburg three.
“I think this is a really good basketball team,” Pennington said of Siloam Springs. “That’s what I think. You know I don’t like to make predictions — but the second time through they’re going to be really, really tough to beat for a lot of people. They’re believing in their system and what they’re doing. They’re making shots and when you make shots anything can happen.”
Russellville 51, Siloam Springs 49
Russellville 12 15 11 13 — 51 Siloam Springs 19 9 9 12 — 49 Russellville (16-4, 6-0): Shaffer 12, Shafer 11, Brock 10, Allen 8, Peter 6, May 2, Smith 2.
Siloam Springs (12-5, 3-3): Ward 14, Stewart 12, Sauer 11, Vachon 9, Winesburg 3.
Boys lose at Vilonia
The Siloam Springs boys trailed at Vilonia by two points early in the fourth quarter before the Eagles (164, 5-2) pulled away for a 6046 victory to end the first half of 5A-West Conference play.
The Panthers (12-6, 3-4) trailed 15-10 after the first quarter and 28-21 at halftime. Siloam Springs trailed 42-38 entering the fourth quarter but cut it to 42-40 early in the fourth.
Landon Ward and Evan Sauer each had 15 points to lead Siloam Springs, while Josh Stewart had eight, Drew Vachon six and Jackson Ford two.