Lake Hamilton may typically be a third-quarter team, but Tuesday night, Hot Springs forced the Wolves to use the final eight minutes to secure the 39-36 win.
The Wolves (13-2, 4-0 5A-South) snapped a 13-game winning streak for the Trojans (15-3, 3-1) in a defensive battle that came down to the final seconds.
"I thought, defensively, we were suffocating (them)," said Lake Hamilton head coach Scotty Pennington. "This group has always kind of been built on that. Offensively, we've gotten better through the years, so now we've gotten to where we score, and I think that's why they're special.
"It showed that on a night where they're good defensively and they're doing a good job of getting after us and guarding what we do that we can win with defense. Defense travels; it translates on the road. It was a toughness, gritty defensive battle, and I'm just really proud of our kids."
Hot Springs head coach Antoni Lasker said he was also proud of his team's defense.
"We pride ourselves on the defensive end each and every night," he said. "Holding a team to under 40 points is not surprising because that's what we're capable of if we put our minds to it.
"I'm more shocked that we didn't score more. We had some opportunities. We missed a lot of chip-ins around the basket; we missed numerous free throws. A three-point game -- you take away those layups and missed free throws, we possibly could win by one maybe. It's a different ballgame."
A putback by sophomore point guard J.J. Walker at the buzzer to end the third quarter gave Hot Springs its first lead since the final two minutes of the first period. The Trojans got the ball to start the final period, but Lake Hamilton senior guard Mondo Watkins stole the inbound pass and sped down the court for an uncontested layup.
Hot Springs sophomore guard Caleb Campbell knotted the score with a free throw at the 5:20 mark before senior forward Clyde Hill gave the lead back to the Wolves with 3:53 remaining. Lake Hamilton stretched its lead out to six with 2:41 left in the game, but a 5-1 run by Hot Springs cut the spread down to two with 1:12 remaining.
Lake Hamilton junior guard Malique Hill put up a pair of free throws with 32 seconds left to take a 36-32 lead, but Hot Springs freshman Jabari West cut the Wolves' lead back down to three with 21 seconds remaining. A dunk by senior forward Kanaan Williams pushed Lake Hamilton's lead out to 38-33 before Campbell nailed a 3-pointer with three seconds to go.
Senior guard Lane Kersey was fouled immediately on the inbound pass, making one of his free throws to set the final before Campbell's desperation three fell short.
Lasker said rebounding was crucial as the Wolves came out ahead on the boards, 25-19.
"We gave up a rebound in the fourth quarter, late in the game with nobody on the free throw line but the shooter," Lasker said. "We gave up a rebound to him.
"We gave up several rebounds when we were scrambling to try to turn it over, and they finally took an ill-advised shot and still didn't come up with the rebound. If we can get those boards and finish possessions on the defensive end, it might be a different ballgame."
Hot Springs jumped out to an early lead, putting up an eight-point salvo in the opening 1:44 to force Pennington to call a timeout. Kersey hit a short jumper 13 seconds out of the break followed by a free throw by Clyde Hill at the 5:17 mark to make it 8-3. Hot Springs senior guard Eddie Miles pulled down his own rebound and scored on a putback at the 4:48 mark for a 10-3 lead.
Malique Hill hit a trey with 3:09 to go in the period to cut the Trojans' lead to four before a Kersey bucket and a pair of free throws by Williams knotted the score with 1:33 remaining. The Wolves then took the lead on a Clyde Hill bucket with 1:07 to go to end the scoring in the opening quarter.
The Wolves opened the second period with a 6-0 run to take a 16-10 lead by the time 1:36 had ticked off the game clock. A 5-1 run by the Trojans cut their deficit to two with 2:34 left in the half. The Wolves held onto a 17-15 halftime lead.
"We talked about that (rebounding) at halftime that the majority of their points after the first 8-0 run were on second and third chances," Pennington said. "If we can stop that, we can stop them. I think we did a little better job in the second half of doing that."
The Trojans outscored the Wolves, 12-8, in the third frame to take a 26-25 lead into the final eight minutes.
"That's just a testament to them defensively, too," Pennington said. "Boy, they're so athletic, and they're so physically strong. They guard you, and they play hard. I think a lot of that was that we would get things going to the basket, but they would go straight up challenging.
"The referees did a great job of allowing the kids to determine the game and not call every little bump. I thought it was really even in that. That makes it tougher. That's just a testament to their defense."
Kersey led the Wolves with 11 points, three steals and two assists. Malique Hill added 10 points with six rebounds, two steals and an assist. Clyde Hill, Watkins and Williams each added six to round out the team's scoring with Clyde Hill pulling down eight rebounds with three charges taken. Watkins had seven rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Both teams struggled at the line, making just over 50 percent each, but the Wolves left 10 on the line.
"We've got to do a better job of making them, especially in games like that," Pennington said. "Thankfully, down the stretch, we made enough."
Campbell was the only Trojan in double figures Tuesday night with 16 points, four rebounds, one assist and one charge taken.
"We hang our hats on having a lot of guys score in double figures, and we weren't able to do that tonight," Lasker said. "That's one reason the result was what it was."
Junior wing Kaleb Hughley added six points with three rebounds and three steals. Miles had five points with two rebounds, an assist, a block, a steal and a taken charge, while Walker had four points with three boards and an assist.
Hot Springs will travel to Benton Friday to take on the Panthers (9-5, 3-1). Lake Hamilton will host El Dorado (6-9, 2-2).
* A pair of free throws by junior forward Alex Milstead with four seconds remaining gave Lake Hamilton a 25-24 win over host Hot Springs Tuesday night at Trojan Fieldhouse in the junior varsity game.
The Trojans jumped out to a 7-0 lead just five minutes into the first half before Lake Hamilton junior forward Logan Stachey put up the Wolves first points at the 10:00 mark. A 6-0 run in the 10th minute of the half pulled the Wolves within 7-6 before the Trojans closed the period on a 6-2 stretch.
The two teams alternated buckets through the first part of the second half with the Trojans holding a 20-18 lead with 7:05 remaining. A Jordan Baker bucket pushed the Trojans out to 22-18 with just over 5 minutes to go before Lake Hamilton senior forward Tyler Jones hit a 3-pointer with 3:25 remaining to spark a 7-2 run to secure the win.
Milstead put up 14 points to lead the Wolves, all in the second half while sinking six of eight from the charity stripe.
Sophomore guard Denim Counts had a pair of 3-point buckets in the first half for six points to lead the Trojans along with sophomore forward Adrian Conway.
Sports on 01/17/2019