Trojans, Wolves look to control 5A-South with win Tuesday

The Sentinel-Record/Grace Brown LOOKING LEFT:Hot Springs junior wing Kaleb Hughley (3) looks to pass as J.A. Fair junior forward Trivez Polite (2) defends on Jan. 4 during a 49-38 home victory at Trojan Fieldhouse.
The Sentinel-Record/Grace Brown LOOKING LEFT:Hot Springs junior wing Kaleb Hughley (3) looks to pass as J.A. Fair junior forward Trivez Polite (2) defends on Jan. 4 during a 49-38 home victory at Trojan Fieldhouse.

Tuesday night's rivalry matchup between Hot Springs and the visiting Lake Hamilton Wolves marks the first time in recent history the outcome will be for more than just bragging rights.

With both teams taking their respecting wins Friday night, they are the only remaining teams in the 5A-South without a conference loss. Lake Hamilton (12-2, 3-0) is on an eight-game winning streak that stretches back to its 64-49 loss at Jonesboro (12-4, 3-0 5A-East) on Dec. 7. Hot Springs (15-2, 3-0) has a 13-game streak, stretching back to Dec. 6 when the Trojans fell, 67-57, at Fayetteville (12-3, 3-0 6A-West).

Sheridan (12-3, 2-1) is the only team near the top two with 12 wins, and Benton (9-5, 2-1) rounds out the top half of the conference. J.A. Fair (6-8, 1-2), El Dorado (5-9, 1-2), Texarkana (3-10, 0-3) and Lakeside (3-11, 0-3) make up the bottom half with the first quarter of conference action to wrap up Tuesday.

Both Lake Hamilton head coach Scotty Pennington and Hot Springs head coach Antoni Lasker anticipate the game will mark a turning point for both teams.

"I really think that if you go in there and lose, not all is lost, being the visiting team, but if you go in and win, it's so much that's gained," Pennington said. "It's big for us, a chance to go into their place and steal one on the road. It's a big opportunity for us. It's huge. I feel like anybody who can go into Hot Springs and win at their place has a really good chance to win the league.

"What we're going to sell our kids on is that it's an opportunity to steal one on the road there that not many people are going to get. That's how I view it. It's a huge game in that if we were able to go in and get it done, it will really put us in a really good place going forward."

Lasker agreed the game has playoff implications. He said he is treating it as he would any other game.

"This game is another ballgame that's on our schedule," he said. "It's the next game up for us, and we're going to approach it as such. It's a conference game; it's a conference opponent.

"It's a rivalry, but at the same time, it's another ballgame, and we have to come in and prepare and focus for it in order to come in and get the job done."

Regardless of the outcome, both teams will face off on Feb. 8 when the Trojans travel to Pearcy for a rematch at Wolf Arena. Hot Springs and Lake Hamilton were members of a blended conference in the previous classification cycle, while the Trojans competed in Class 5A in the postseason and the Wolves advanced to Class 6A competition.

The gym at Trojan Fieldhouse is likely to be packed for the rivalry game and both teams have their own way of looking at the location. For the Trojans, it will be home; for the Wolves, it is "a very hostile environment."

"For three years now, it's been that way, and the kids that we're using are the same kids that went through it the last two years," Pennington said. "I would hope that our kids are used to that and ready. They know that it's going to be a very hostile environment. It's going to be a tough place to play.

"It's going to be loud and packed and ought to be a great atmosphere for a high school basketball game. As a kid, you look forward to that opportunity to play in that type of atmosphere, so I would expect our kids to be excited and to know what they're getting into. I hope that we can forget about all of that and focus on what we have to do on the floor to get the win."

The rivalry aspect is something Lasker thinks will play into the excitement factor for both teams, but he wants to make sure his Trojans keep level heads going into the contest.

"These kids have -- on both sides -- have grown up, and they've known each other for a long time," he said. "They've played against each other for a long time, so they'll probably be a little more excited about it because of the rivalry aspect and them knowing their guys over there.

"But, like I said, it's the next team on our schedule, and we're going to approach it as another ballgame, preparing and doing what we need to do to come out with a victory."

Lasker also noted he is not making any changes to the way the team takes the court.

"At this point in the season, we are who we are," he said. "We're going to go out there; we're going to do what we've done all season, what we've done all year long and just continue to try to do it at a high level.

"If we come out prepared and come out ready to play, I believe that if everything lines up for us, we'll come out victorious. That's why we play."

Lasker said his team knows Lake Hamilton boasts a troupe of athletes the likes the Wolves have never had before on a single team. The Trojans have plenty of options to focus the defense.

"As far as defensively, we're going to play a good, solid team defense, and we're going to try to limit everyone," he said. "Whoever is out on the court, we're going to try to limit them as much as we can and play solid defense and play that good Trojan defense that Hot Springs is known for."

Pennington, as well, has a solid group of athletes that he has to find answers for on defense.

"I think that Santiair (Thomas), it kind of goes through him and J.J. Walker," he said. "J.J. has been their starting point guard for two years now. He makes it all go. The kid that moved in from Sylvan Hills is a nice player and can score the ball.

"As far as them, scoring-wise, Santiair and Caleb Campbell and also Kaleb Hughley has had some big nights for them shooting the ball. For them, really, they're really balanced. You've got probably seven or eight guys that are capable of getting double figures any night."

Pennington said he is concerned with the speed the Trojans bring to the court, which makes ball protection one of the major keys to the game.

"We can't give them live-ball turnovers where they can get it in transition and attack us before we're set on defense," Pennington said. "They're so good in the open floor, and that'll be big for us, not turning the ball over. And on the defensive boards, not allowing second and third chances and giving them offensive rebounds.

"That's going to be the big key to the game for us are those two things -- how well we rebound it and how well we take care of it will be big. They're really built off of their defense and their pressure. Usually teams that handle their pressure well and rebound it well are teams that have a better chance of beating them. That's easier said than done though."

The two teams are expected to tip off at about 7 p.m.

Sports on 01/14/2019

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