Trojans withstand late push to down Indians
After falling to Beebe Thursday, Hot Springs picked things right back up as senior J.J. Walker put up
32 points to lead the Trojans to a 59
55 victory over Caddo Hills Friday at Trojan Arena.
“I feel like we played very well,” Hot Springs head coach Antoni Lasker said. “We had a lot of energy. We defended pretty good in the half court. This was the best offensive game we’ve had this season. We moved the basketball. We shared the basketball. It wasn’t just one or two guys; it was the entire team, so I’m satisified with our overall effort.
With a 36-20 advantage at halftime, Hot Springs’ Nasir Hannah put up five points at the start of the third to stretch the Trojans’ lead before Rayce Young sank a 3-pointer with Connor Kincannon planting a shot from the free throw line to pull within 41-23 with 4:47 on the clock. Senior JJ Walker found junior Jabari West for a bucket before the Indians began chipping away at the Trojans lead on a 20-2 run that extended into the final period.
Caddo Hills’ momentum brought it within 45-43 before Dante Grayer connected with West and Walker on the inside to broaden the spread. The teams hit back-to-back buckets as Caddo Hills’ Tate Durmont went 1 for 2 from the free throw line, and Walker and West each sank a pair of free throws for a 55-46 lead.
“I thought we played hard,” said Caddo Hills head coach Josh Ferrell. “We got down a little bit, and we never gave up, so I was proud of us for that. We weren’t hitting our outside shots like we’re used to, but I thought we did a really good job of moving the basketball, trying to find the open gaps in defenses, and maybe get some chip shots at the blocks.”
Back-and-forth play hit the court as Caddo Hills kept Hot Springs in sight, Dumont capitalized on a steal from teammate Matt Turner with a bucket and Kincannon lifted in a layup to pull within 57-55 with 49.1 seconds remaining. A set of free throws from Walker with less than 10 seconds in the game set the final.
“I told the guys in the locker room that I almost lost us the game trying to slow down there in the second half,” Lasker said. “I apologized to them. I should’ve let them keep the momentum going, but I had some stuff that I wanted us to work on. I’m pleased with the guys and the way they played. Caddo Hills is a good team, don’t get me wrong. They have veteran guys. I saw their starting lineup, and they’re starting four seniors and a junior, so they have veteran guys. When I told my guys that we’re gonna try to run our offense, that slowed us down and took us out of transition, which is where we’re thriving — getting driving kick 3s, getting JJ downhill, and so I definitely almost blew that one.”
Neither team gained a significant lead in the first quarter with the score knotted at 9-all until Hot Springs surged ahead as Walker cut
up the middle for a basket, and West captured back- to- back buckets for a 15-9 lead. After a steal and a layup by Kincannon, Walker popped off for the Trojans, putting up their next
12 points until Hannah drilled in a trey from the side for 32
15 with less than four minutes until intermission. Kincannon picked up the pace for the visitors, pulling within 16 at the break.
With a slew of younger members joining the Trojans this year, Lasker said focusing on camaraderie is a priority for the team.
“We have a bunch of young guys that are learning,” he said. “And the veterans that are coming back from last year. We’re trying to mix those two groups, the young guys with the veterans, and they have to learn each other. It’s a process. We didn’t have a lot of time in the off season because we didn’t have a lot of guys. We had a lot of football guys so the more we work on that camaraderie and the more we work on playing together and being together as a team and the team’s moving the ball, we’ll be fine.”
Walker finished the night with five rebounds, three assists and a steal. West came away with 14 points, eight boards, two steals and an assists, Hannah tallied 8 points, two boards and an assist, Grayer had 3 points, three assists and a steal, and Aamir Andrews rounded out the scoring with 2 points and eight rebounds.
Kincannon led Caddo Hills with 29 points. Youn and Cameron Gaither added 9 points each.
Hot Springs hosts eStem Tuesday with the junior varsity boys starting things up at 5 p.m.