Objects in one's rear-view mirror may be closer than they appear, but not all final scores synopsize a game.
Hot Springs 55, Lake Hamilton 42 on Monday night at Trojan Fieldhouse is a good example of the latter concept.
The scoreboard doesn't reflect Hot Springs' first- and early second-quarter dominance, senior Trey Lenox scoring the first seven points and 14 of the first 19. Or the 9-0 run early in the second quarter that, before a security official could step in, had one young Trojan fan shimmy-shaking on the court like Dancing Barry of NBA fame.
More than any of Lenox' seven three-pointers on a 27-point night, a defensive play early in the second quarter deserved "best thing I saw today" status on Scott Van Pelt's "SportsCenter" program.
Lake Hamilton post Jason Burks got a nice pass on the baseline and drove to the basket before confronted by fellow senior Cleo Floyd. An all-state Trojan football player who's made a goal-line stop or two, Floyd tied up Burks, rocking the house.
Getting the ball on the alternating possession rule, Hot Springs scored the knockout blow on a flurry led by Floyd, whose pass to junior Paris Harris resulted in a three-point play. Senior Exavian Christon then picked off a pass at midcourt and fed to Lenox for a slam dunk, after which Harris made an acrobatic follow for a 28-4 lead that prompted a Lake Hamilton time-out.
To its credit, Lake Hamilton did not allow Hot Springs to enact the mercy rule in the second half, seniors Parker Knapp and Dewayne Matlock teaming for the game's last seven points on an 11-2 run after Lenox' seventh three made it 53-31.
Neither team scored in the first 2:22 until Lenox connected from long range, which he followed with a spin move into the lane and a stuff off Christon's feed. Nick Anderson's two free throws broke Lake Hamilton's scoring drought but it was 16-2 before Burks made the team's first basket and 31-9 when the 6-6 senior made its second bucket.
Burks finished with 12 points, Anderson 9 and Matlock 8 for Lake Hamilton, which needed a glacial pace that Hot Springs wisely did not provide. Coach Scotty Pennington's Wolves, with some of the players back from a team that split with the Trojans last season, are 2-2 and off until Tuesday night against Alma at Wolf Arena.
Hot Springs is 2-0, backing a road win over Class 7A Springdale Har-Ber with an impressive home opener against its Class 6A neighbor. The Trojans will be tournament tested before their next home game, Jan. 5 against defending 6A champion Pine Bluff. Coach Rodney Echols' squad is on an unfinished-business tour pointed to March's Class 5A final at Bank of the Ozarks Arena.
Sports on 11/25/2015