PEARCY -- Lake Hamilton went out with a bang for its last home game with a 61-55 win against Texarkana as the Wolves celebrated senior night at Wolf Arena.
"Our seniors deserved to go out a winner on senior night," Lake Hamilton head coach Scotty Pennington said of his five seniors. "I was proud that we were able to find a way to win for them. They have meant so much to our program."
Trailing 47-50 going into the final frame, senior Adjani Winston made 1 of 2 from the free throw line before grabbing a rebound and stuffing it back in the hoop to knot the score. The Razorbacks (9-15, 2-11 5A South) countered with two field goals and a free throw to pull ahead by 5 before Lake Hamilton sophomore Chase Jessup put up a shot in the paint and senior Malique Hill added one from the charity stripe to come within 55-53.
With 1:41 on the clock, Winston and Jessup each added a shot from the line to knot the score before Robinson stole the ball, opening the door for Hill to sink a bucket to take the final lead. Winston and Robinson each converted from the charity stripe to set the final.
Senior Alexander Milstead found Winston posted inside for back-to-back layups to start the game before Texarkana junior Andre Reed drained a 3-pointer to reduce the spread. Senior Jaylon Randle converted one from the line, and the Razorbacks tapped in a trey to pull ahead.
A rebound and putback by Reed pushed the Razorbacks' lead out to 5 before the Wolves (18-8, 8-5) hit an 8-0 run to take a 12-9 lead. The Wolves held the lead through the remainder of the quarter before Jones sank a field goal to pull within 16-15.
Milstead and Winston pierced the basket with layups before junior Kyron Young attempted to inch closer to the hosts with a field goal. Lingering around a 3-point spread, a pair of free throws and a 3-point play from Hill pushed the Wolves' lead out to 28-20, as the Razorbacks contested with a shot from the arc and a Randle jumper.
After trading shots from the free throw line, a turnover by the Wolves opened Young for a 3-pointer as Milstead and Hill responded with back-to-back conversions from the charity stripe. Texarkana sank a pair of field goals to take a 34-32 lead at intermission.
The back-and-forth continued as the teams returned to the court, and with the score knotted at 39, Robinson put up 5 straight points before Texarkana hit back-to-back buckets to keep the Wolves in sight. Trying to keep the Razorbacks at bay, the Wolves added a field goal before the visitors hit a 6-0 spurt to take a 49-46 lead before Winston and Jones each sank 1 of 2 from the line to close out the third.
"Texarkana played very well and shot the ball extremely well from the 3-point line," Pennington said. "We had to work very hard for this win."
Winston led the Wolves with 24 points, five rebounds and an assist. Hill finished with 14 points, five boards, two assists and two steals, Milstead added 11 points, five assists, one board and takeaway, Robinson had 7 points, three assists, three rebounds and one steal, and Jessup tallied 5 points, seven boards, one block, and one steal. Sophomore Gavin Robbins grabbed five rebounds.
Jones paced the Razorbacks with 11 points, seven rebounds, one assist and one steal. Junior Nicholas Watson had 10 points and six boards, and Reed finished with 9 points, two assists, two boards and one takeaway.
The Wolves travel to Benton (13-11, 4-8) Tuesday for their last game of the regular season.
Sports on 02/23/2020