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In front of a raucous crowd on Friday night at the Panther Den, No. 4 ranked Heber Springs took care of business in convincing fashion with a 47-31 throttling of Marianna-Lee’s Trojans, leaving the Panthers in good position heading into the second half of their 2-4A conference slate.
Now a game up on the Trojans and at least two games ahead of Lonoke and the rest of the league, Heber controls its destiny with eight league games remaining, including Tuesday’s contest at Southside Batesville.
“I thought everybody including the sophomores played like men tonight,” said Heber Coach Kevin Kyzer. “We played physical and owned the glass tonight. There were a couple of loose balls we didn’t get but we owned the glass. We didn’t give up offensive rebounds and played physical.
“Their defense is real good and they kept us out of rhythm. We had to find some combinations of what would work. Austin Adkins hit some three’s to help loosen them up and Judson Smith hitting a couple and Michael Kramer one really helped loosen them up and open the lane,” added Kyzer.
After a long scoring lull for both teams to open the game, Marianna snatched the game’s first lead with a bucket from versatile senior forward Josh Smith, who has played a large role for the Trojans since his sophomore year.
But, Kramer countered with a three-pointer from left corner off an inbound play and senior power forward Austin Brown, who has dueled inside with Smith since his sophomore year, scored off a lob from point guard John Price.
Brown turned an offensive rebound into a pair of free throws but Marianna guard Demarcus Price sank a midrange jumper from right wing, leaving Heber with a 7-4 advantage going into the second quarter.
Price opened the second with two free throws but Smith hit a 13-foot jumper from right baseline and Smith later added a free throw. Brown fired back with four straight, including a jumper from left elbow followed by a fade away shot from left side.
Then, Heber guard Judson Smith drained a three-pointer from right corner off an assist from Adkins as the Panthers’ lead grew to 16-7, causing the Trojans to take a timeout with 3:34 remaining in the first half.
After the break in action, Smith made a free throw to end the Trojans’ drought but Judson Smith drilled another three-pointer for Heber, this time from left corner off an assist from Brown.
Trailing 19-8, Marianna closed within five behind a 6-0 run which started with a steal and layup by guard Josh Wyers. Smith then sliced into the lane and finished with a finger roll and forward Darderick Jones scored inside off a baseline inbound play.
Price penetrated the Trojans’ defense and drew a foul with 3.2 seconds left in the first half and he connected on both shots from the charity stripe, boosting the Panthers’ lead to 21-14 at halftime.
Wyers drained a three-pointer up top early in the third quarter as the Trojans closed within four but Adkins responded with a trey from left wing. Marianna pulled within a bucket when forward Jamal Richardson hit a short jumper from left side and Wyers ripped a three-pointer from right elbow but Brown stepped out and drained a three-pointer from left wing off an assist from Price.
Smith fired back with a jumper in transition for the Trojans but Adkins delivered again, this time with a three-pointer from left wing off an assist from Price. Smith threw down a two-handed slam off a lob pass before Brown attacked the basket for a layup off a baseline inbound play.
Late in the third quarter, Smith came away with a steal and finished with a slam-dunk as the Trojans pulled within four at 32-28 entering the final eight minutes of play.
“If we have a lead in the fourth quarter we like to spread it out and put it in Johns Price’s hands,” said Kyzer. “It’s worked all year. We’ve been very good in the fourth quarter this year and if we continue to do that it will all be good.”
Adkins opened the fourth period with a three-pointer from right wing but Richardson scored in the paint off an assist from Smith. Price fired back with five consecutive, starting with a strong drive in which he split the defense and dropped a hanger in heavy traffic.
Moments later Price buried a deep three-pointer from right wing off an assist from Brown and Price returned the favor, this time finding Brown cutting baseline for a layup as the Panthers pushed their lead to 42-30 midway through the fourth stanza.
Price added a pull up three-pointer from right elbow before Marianna finally broke its drought with a free throw from Price. During the final three minutes, Heber patiently ran its offense while holding Marianna scoreless. The Panthers capped their 47-31 win with a pair of free throws by Brown.
Smith led Marianna (10-10, 6-2) with 14 points and Wyers added eight. Brown scored a game-high 15 points for the Panthers (15-3, 7-1), while Price had 12, Adkins followed with nine and Judson Smith chipped in eight.
In front of a raucous crowd on Friday night at the Panther Den, No. 4 ranked Heber Springs took care of business in convincing fashion with a 47-31 throttling of Marianna-Lee’s Trojans, leaving the Panthers in good position heading into the second half of their 2-4A conference slate.
Now a game up on the Trojans and at least two games ahead of Lonoke and the rest of the league, Heber controls its destiny with eight league games remaining, including Tuesday’s contest at Southside Batesville.
“I thought everybody including the sophomores played like men tonight,” said Heber Coach Kevin Kyzer. “We played physical and owned the glass tonight. There were a couple of loose balls we didn’t get but we owned the glass. We didn’t give up offensive rebounds and played physical.
“Their defense is real good and they kept us out of rhythm. We had to find some combinations of what would work. Austin Adkins hit some three’s to help loosen them up and Judson Smith hitting a couple and Michael Kramer one really helped loosen them up and open the lane,” added Kyzer.
After a long scoring lull for both teams to open the game, Marianna snatched the game’s first lead with a bucket from versatile senior forward Josh Smith, who has played a large role for the Trojans since his sophomore year.
But, Kramer countered with a three-pointer from left corner off an inbound play and senior power forward Austin Brown, who has dueled inside with Smith since his sophomore year, scored off a lob from point guard John Price.
Brown turned an offensive rebound into a pair of free throws but Marianna guard Demarcus Price sank a midrange jumper from right wing, leaving Heber with a 7-4 advantage going into the second quarter.
Price opened the second with two free throws but Smith hit a 13-foot jumper from right baseline and Smith later added a free throw. Brown fired back with four straight, including a jumper from left elbow followed by a fade away shot from left side.
Then, Heber guard Judson Smith drained a three-pointer from right corner off an assist from Adkins as the Panthers’ lead grew to 16-7, causing the Trojans to take a timeout with 3:34 remaining in the first half.
After the break in action, Smith made a free throw to end the Trojans’ drought but Judson Smith drilled another three-pointer for Heber, this time from left corner off an assist from Brown.
Trailing 19-8, Marianna closed within five behind a 6-0 run which started with a steal and layup by guard Josh Wyers. Smith then sliced into the lane and finished with a finger roll and forward Darderick Jones scored inside off a baseline inbound play.
Price penetrated the Trojans’ defense and drew a foul with 3.2 seconds left in the first half and he connected on both shots from the charity stripe, boosting the Panthers’ lead to 21-14 at halftime.
Wyers drained a three-pointer up top early in the third quarter as the Trojans closed within four but Adkins responded with a trey from left wing. Marianna pulled within a bucket when forward Jamal Richardson hit a short jumper from left side and Wyers ripped a three-pointer from right elbow but Brown stepped out and drained a three-pointer from left wing off an assist from Price.
Smith fired back with a jumper in transition for the Trojans but Adkins delivered again, this time with a three-pointer from left wing off an assist from Price. Smith threw down a two-handed slam off a lob pass before Brown attacked the basket for a layup off a baseline inbound play.
Late in the third quarter, Smith came away with a steal and finished with a slam-dunk as the Trojans pulled within four at 32-28 entering the final eight minutes of play.
“If we have a lead in the fourth quarter we like to spread it out and put it in Johns Price’s hands,” said Kyzer. “It’s worked all year. We’ve been very good in the fourth quarter this year and if we continue to do that it will all be good.”
Adkins opened the fourth period with a three-pointer from right wing but Richardson scored in the paint off an assist from Smith. Price fired back with five consecutive, starting with a strong drive in which he split the defense and dropped a hanger in heavy traffic.
Moments later Price buried a deep three-pointer from right wing off an assist from Brown and Price returned the favor, this time finding Brown cutting baseline for a layup as the Panthers pushed their lead to 42-30 midway through the fourth stanza.
Price added a pull up three-pointer from right elbow before Marianna finally broke its drought with a free throw from Price. During the final three minutes, Heber patiently ran its offense while holding Marianna scoreless. The Panthers capped their 47-31 win with a pair of free throws by Brown.
Smith led Marianna (10-10, 6-2) with 14 points and Wyers added eight. Brown scored a game-high 15 points for the Panthers (15-3, 7-1), while Price had 12, Adkins followed with nine and Judson Smith chipped in eight.
