Troy upsets LH on the road, 5A-south heats up
PEARCY — The Lake Hamilton Wolves hosted Garland County rival Hot Springs Friday in an electric game between 5A-south conference rivals.
Lake Hamilton (18-4, 8-3 5A-south) won its last game by 40 points, besting Texarkana 8747 in Wolf Arena.
The Walls of Troy stood strong as the Trojans (14-7, 8-2) held off the Wolf Pack’s fourth period push with a final score of 5852, giving Lake Hamilton its third conference loss of the season.
“I think our kids played a good game,” Hot Springs head coach Antoni Lasker said. “We executed the game plan making sure we were there on every 3-point shot. We defended well and we did not get into much of our pressure because we did not want to risk gambling and give them open looks.”
In their last meeting, Lake Hamilton beat the Trojans 74-58. This could be the biggest win of Lasker’s time as Hot Springs’ head coach.
“It is the biggest win because it is the most recent win,” Lasker said. “That is all that matters right now. They were the next opponent and the next opponent is always the biggest one.”
Hot Springs used the 1-3-1 zone defense to create 12 turnovers for the game.
“It was a tough loss, but more than anything it was very humbling for our team and our coaches,” Lake Hamilton head coach Scotty Pennington said. “In the long run it can be looked back on as what got our attention and got us headed to where we need to be.”
Junior Octavious Rhodes scored six points and snagged nine rebounds for Hot Springs.
“Rhodes is a special kid, man,” Lasker said. “He has not even scratched the surface. I have been on him the last couple of weeks trying to get more out of him. He has picked it up, and he responded well. Trying to guard Ty Robinson is no easy task, and I felt like he did a fairly decent job.”
With 5:50 left in the first period, Hot Springs senior Derrick Hicks stole the ball from Lake Hamilton and went coast-to
coast to make the score 7-6 in favor of the Trojans.
“They all worked hard,” Lasker said. “Volunteer coach White gave us a shooting drill, and we do that every day. Our guys committed themselves to be a better shooting team. Lake Hamilton always takes away the paint and we shot the ball well tonight.”
With 4:04 left before halftime, Lake Hamilton senior Charter Harris caught the dish pass from sophomore Labraun Christon for the easy layup to make the score 18-14 with the Trojans leading.
“Labraun had some great moments attacking but struggled to finish,” Pennington said. “Charter had some good moments attacking. We need to continue to get him to be more aggressive offensively because he is a tough matchup for people.”
Lake Hamilton’s spread style offense opens up the shots from 3-point distance.
“Hot Springs got after us tonight and they deserved to win the game,” Pennington said. “When we made our comeback it felt like we had a chance. Honestly, it would have been unjust if we would have come back and won the game. Their kids and their coaches were more locked in. They played harder and they deserved it.”
The halftime score was 27-20 with Troy leading, and turnovers plagued the Wolves in the first half.
Lake Hamilton lost the first half turnover battle 10-4 after a season average of seven per game.
“When you cut it to three late and you go back and you look at all the open looks and layups we missed early,” Pennington said. “We missed free throws and honestly, it is amazing we had a chance.”
Hot Springs senior guard Nasir Hannah tallied 10 points, nine rebounds and three steals against the Wolves.
“Nasir is a guy who has been in our program,” Lasker said. “He has been starting since he was a sophomore. I have watched him mature into the leader that he has become. He closed this game out for us on the offensive end. I am proud of Nasir and I am proud of all the guys.”
With 7:27 in the third period, Hannah made a jump shot to make the score 29-20 with Troy having the advantage.
Hot Springs junior Kendall Williams had 16 points and four rebounds in the Trojan victory.
“Rhodes and Williams have been two of our better guys this year,” Lasker said. “Williams is an undersized post kid, but he plays a lot bigger than 6-foot-3.”
Lake Hamilton’s full-court press defense forced Hot Springs to play with a fast tempo.
“Credit them for the effort and how they got after us,” Pennington said. “We just did not respond really well early. This puts us under some adversity. We are going to find out about our character as a team. We want to make this as something as a positive in the long run. You do not lose, you learn and that is where we are at right now. I feel like our kids will respond the right way.”
The Wolves did not foul with 13 seconds to play in the game down six points.
“We want to play every game to try to win,” Lasker said. “We are just on to the next game now that we got through with this one. Shoutout to coach Pennington and Lake Hamilton. He does a great job with those kids.”
Robinson had 29 points and 18 rebounds against Hot Springs. He went 15-of-16 from the free throw stripe
“Ty had a rough night early on,” Pennington said. “Ty is always going to draw the best defender, doubled and face guarded. It is pretty special to still get 29 when he did not have the 3-ball. He is a tough, gritty kid who wants it and he works hard at it.”
Robinson scored a layup with 6:43 left to play, making the score 40-35 with Hot Springs leading.
On the other end of the floor on the next possession, Robinson would have a huge block on Rhodes at the basket.
Hot Springs runs a dribbleand-drive style offense to get quick scores and rebounds for second chance points.
With 3:10 remaining, Harris drove and dunked the ball on two defenders, making the score 46-42 as Lake Hamilton started to make a run on the Trojan lead.
Harris ended his night with eight points and five rebounds.
“I am tickled to death for coach Lasker and their kids,” Pennington said. “They played phenomenal and they were hungrier. You could tell they wanted it so bad, and they played their guts out. We have been that team before. This is new for us being more of the hunted, and they were more of the hunter tonight.”
If the Trojans win out they will be in second place and in a bracket opposite Pine Bluff (166, 10-0 5A South) for the state tournament.
A tie breaker with Lake Hamilton is possible down the road.
Hot Springs still has a second game with Pine Bluff, and there is a real chance both Lake Hamilton and Hot Springs could finish with three losses in the conference.
“I think our guys played solid,” Lasker said. “We rebounded very well, which was our key to the victory. We wanted to make sure we rebounded, limited them from the three and keep them off the foul line. Our key is play hard and I am just happy we got the victory.”