Fresh off their first conference loss of the season, the Hot Springs Trojans got back on track against visiting El Dorado Tuesday night.
Freshman guard J.J. Walker led all scorers with 21 points as Hot Springs (16-10, 11-1 in 5A/6A-6) pulled away from Joderrio Ramey and the Wildcats (10-13, 7-5) for a 66-61 win at Trojan Fieldhouse.
Trailing 35-27 at the half, El Dorado made things interesting with a sizzling third quarter. The Wildcats dropped 21 points and pulled within 49-48 entering the final frame.
The Trojans bounced back with a 17-13 advantage in the fourth quarter to set the final margin.
Senior Curtis Frierson had 16 points for Hot Springs, and sophomore Santiair Thomas added 14 points. Ramey stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, five rebounds and six assists for El Dorado, while senior Keshun Greene recorded nine points with 12 rebounds.
Hot Springs travels to De Queen (1-19, 0-12) tonight before hosting Camden Fairview (12-8, 6-5) on Tuesday.
Girls
In the midst of a 12-game winning streak, the Hot Springs Lady Trojans completed an undefeated January with a 41-28 win over El Dorado Tuesday night.
Senior guard Imani Honey led the way with 12 points as Hot Springs (20-3, 8-0) finished a perfect 8-0 in the first month of the year.
Leading 27-17 at the half, the Lady Trojans held El Dorado (9-11, 6-6) to just four points in the third quarter and seven in the fourth quarter, scoring 14 points of their own to set the final margin.
Senior guard Ariana Guinn finished with eight points for Hot Springs, while junior forward Nya Moody added six points and sophomore guard Keindia Nevels had five points.
The Lady Trojans face De Queen (17-4, 11-1) on the road tonight before a home game against Camden Fairview (8-12, 3-7) Tuesday.
FOUNTAIN LAKE-ARKADELPHIA
FOUNTAIN LAKE -- Fountain Lake's senior boys got contributions from everyone in a 75-64 win over visiting Arkadelphia Tuesday night at Irvin J. Bass Gymnasium-Sammy Lambert Court.
Senior guard Parion Johnson led all scorers with 23 points and junior guard Jordan Mungle had 17 points. Junior Ahman Johnson and senior Cade Dodge each scored 11 points to give the Cobras a balanced offensive attack.
Fountain Lake (15-6, 9-4 in 3A/4A-8) set the tone with a 24-15 advantage at the end of the first quarter, later stretching it to 40-28 at the half. With the Cobras leading 59-45 after three quarters, the Badgers (7-12, 4-8) showed signs of life with 19 points in the final period, but the deficit proved too much to overcome.
Junior guard Victor Tademy paced the Badgers with 19 points. Senior forward Kanovus Leeper added 15 points and junior forward Javonte Brown chipped in with 14 points.
The Cobras traveled to Joe T. Robinson (12-9, 10-3) Thursday and play at Centerpoint (16-9, 9-5) tonight.
Girls
A second-quarter surge proved the difference for the Arkadelphia Lady Badgers Tuesday night.
Clinging to a slim 10-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, the Lady Badgers (8-16, 4-7) outscored Fountain Lake (9-12, 4-3) 13-7 in the second period, pulling away for a 37-32 win at Irvin J. Bass Gymnasium-Sammy Lambert Court.
The Lady Cobras rebounded with 11 points in the third quarter, but Arkadelphia had 11 points of its own to maintain a 34-26 lead entering the final frame.
Fountain Lake held the Lady Badgers to just three points in the fourth quarter, but failed to complete the comeback, scoring only six points.
Senior forward Isabelle Baker led the Lady Cobras with 12 points, and sophomore forward Emoree Martin scored eight points.
Fountain Lake had a road game Thursday night at Joe T. Robinson (11-9, 8-5) before returning home tonight to face Centerpoint (13-11, 8-5).
MOUNTAIN PINE- MAUMELLE CHARTER
MOUNTAIN PINE -- With the district tournament right around the corner, Mountain Pine's senior boys continued to separate themselves from the rest of the pack with a 64-53 win over visiting Maumelle Charter Tuesday night.
The Red Devils (19-3, 9-0 in 1A/2A-12) built a 33-23 lead in the first half, but Maumelle Charter (17-12, 8-4) hung around. The Falcons outscored Mountain Pine 19-12 in the third quarter to pull within 45-42 before the Red Devils tightened their defense to secure the win.
Senior guard Fay Haywood paced Mountain Pine with 27 points, and backcourt mate Lashawn Reed scored 18 points. Sophomore Kwin Staggers added eight points for the Red Devils.
Mountain Pine hosts fellow Class 2A contender Blevins (22-5, 7-0) tonight with first place in conference on the line.
CUTTER MORNING STAR-FOREMAN
FOREMAN -- Ryan Brown paced Cutter Morning Star with 26 points as the Eagles rolled to a 74-58 win over the Foreman Gators Tuesday night.
The Eagles (12-8, 4-5 in 1A/2A-12) put up their best quarter early, rolling to a 28-20 lead in the opening quarter, but Foreman (10-5, 4-3) outscored them 11-9 in the second to cut the deficit to 37-31 at the break. Foreman pulled within two after again outscoring the Eagles in the third, leaving CMS with a 49-47 lead before the Eagles put up 25 in the final eight minutes to secure the win.
Brown finished with seven rebounds, four assists and three steals versus two turnovers. Rhett Barrett added 18 for the Eagles with five assists and two rebounds, Mason Treat finished with 13 points, along with six rebounds and two blocked shots.
"I thought we played our most complete game of the season," said head coach Matt Carter. "We were solid on both ends of the floor and executed efficiently throughout the game. Our goal was 'one and done,' meaning just give the one shot per possession and for the most part we did that.
"We pulled 36 rebounds for the game, executed in the fourth quarter and hit our free throws. I thought Rhett Barrett had his best game of the season, and Ryan was solid as well. Overall, I thought it was a good team win and, hopefully, we can build off it moving forward."
The Eagles are back on the road tonight, taking on the Murfreesboro Rattlers (0-17, 0-6).
Girls
Snapping a four-game losing streak, the Cutter Morning Star Lady Eagles improved to 12-10 overall and 3-4 in conference with a 42-34 win at Foreman Tuesday night.
Senior Loke Miller paced the Lady Eagles with 16 points, including seven free throws in the fourth quarter, and senior guard Madison Dixon finished with 11 points.
"It was a great road win for us and our program," head coach Brittany Senn said.
The Lady Eagles travel to Murfreesboro (13-7, 4-1) tonight and host Ouachita (19-8, 5-0) on Tuesday before closing the regular season at Mountain Pine (6-13, 3-5).
CENTERPOINT-CAMDEN FAIRVIEW
CAMDEN -- Camden Fairview got a balanced scoring effort Tuesday night to withstand an offensive eruption from Centerpoint big man Parker Sutton.
Sutton led all scorers with 34 points, but the Cardinals (12-8, 6-5 in 5A/6A-6) had four players in double figures in a 65-57 win.
Trailing 16-11 at the end of the first quarter, Centerpoint (16-9, 9-5) outscored the Cardinals 12-10 in the second period to pull within 26-23 at the half. The Knights dropped 21 points in the third quarter, but Fairview had 24 points of its own and later rode a 15-13 advantage in the fourth quarter to set the final margin.
Centerpoint hosts Fountain Lake (15-7, 9-4) tonight.
Girls
A barrage of third-quarter scoring proved the difference for the Camden Fairview Lady Cardinals Tuesday night.
Tied 23-23 at halftime, Fairview (8-12, 3-7) outscored the visiting Centerpoint Lady Knights (13-11, 8-5) 26-13 in the third period, pulling away for a 63-50 win.
Senior forward Cortney Samuel scored a game-high 19 points for the Lady Knights. Junior forward Keasha Owens added 10 points, including three 3-pointers.
Junior guard Jayla Jackson paced the Lady Cardinals with 16 points, while junior forward Tai'sheka Porchia had 14 points and senior forward Christina Gibbs scored 10 points.
Centerpoint resumes conference play against visiting Fountain Lake (9-12, 4-3) tonight.
Sports on 02/02/2018