Senior point guard Caleb Brock jab stepped his defender, stepped back behind the 3-point arc and drilled the biggest shot in the Panther Den’s brief history. A shot that lifted Heber Springs past Marianna-Lee’s Trojans 64-61, and gave the Panthers sole possession of first place in the 2-4A Conference standings.
“The bottom line is we stayed mentally tough and did whatever we had to do to win this ballgame. We were not going to let this game get away after how hard we fought on our home floor. Caleb kind of put them on his back at the end. He went against their pressure all night without coming out of the game and that is amazing because they were rotating five for five and pressuring us all over the floor,” said Panther Coach Kevin Kyzer. “They had their best on the ball defender guarding him all night and he really did a good job of getting us in our sets. Caleb really carried us tonight not necessarily with his scoring but just being our quarterback,” added Kyzer.
Going into Tuesday’s games at Southside Batesville, the Panthers (13-5, 8-0) stand at least three games ahead of six teams in 2-4A and one up on the Trojans, who had an overall record of 12-0 before Friday’s loss to Heber.
Earlier this season, Marianna won “Arkansas Best Tournament” at Little Rock Hall, which had several of the premier Class 6A teams, including Hall and Little Rock McClellan, who the Trojans defeated in the finals.
On Friday, the Panthers showed they are capable of playing with any team in the state. “If we take care of business and keep getting better in practice every day I don’t think confidence is going to be a problem. I think we started building confidence when we went down to Stuttgart and beat them earlier in the year. The practices over the last couple of days have been so good that I wasn’t really nervous coming into tonight. I wasn’t sure we were going to win, but I thought we would play a good game and we did. I am proud of them,” Kyzer said.
Heber took a quick 7-0 lead as Brock turned a steal into a free throw, Tanner Rockwell scored in the open floor and Wes McMullen converted an offensive rebound into a jumper. After Michael May swiped a steal and scored, Marianna took a timeout with 5:45 to play in the first quarter.
Following the break in action, the Trojans fired back with a 9-0 run, ignited by LaGregory Hinkle’s bucket from left block off an assist from Clarence Hampton. Henrey Edwards followed with a 3-pointer from left wing then Hinkle picked a steal and hit Keyantae Matthews for a layup, knotting the game at 7-up.
Matthews completed Marianna’s run with a steal and layup but Rockwell split two defenders and hit a bank shot from left side before Hampton made a pair from the charity stripe.
The Trojans pushed their lead to four when Elbert Fields sank a 14-foot jumper from right baseline but Brock side-stepped a defender and nailed a 3-pointer from right wing before Josh Smith scored underneath.
After Austin Brown split the Trojan defense and hit a tough bank shot, Smith scored from left block but Brock popped a 3-pointer from right wing and McMullen notched a stick back in transition, giving Heber a 19-17 lead entering the second quarter.
Heber pushed its lead to seven early in the second as Brock dished to Joseph Tharp for a bucket and Rockwell drove left baseline and finished over Hampton while drawing contact. Rockwell completed the 3-point play as Heber’s lead grew to 24-27 before Edwards ripped a deep 3-pointer from left wing.
Asutin Brown bounced to Rockwell for a layup and Brown later added two free throws but Edwards nailed another 3-pointer from left wing and Corbin Price snared an offensive rebound and hit an off-balance jumper from left baseline, tying the game at 28-up.
In the final 3:26 of the first half, Brock made a pair of free throws and McMullen added one more from the stripe while Heber’s defense shut down Marianna as the Panthers took a 31-28 lead to intermission.
Austin Brown opened the third quarter with a free throw but Marianna claimed the lead when Edwards dropped a floater in the lane and Matthews drilled a 3-pointer from left corner.
Heber jumped back in front on a tough putback by Austin Brown but Matthews buried another 3-pointer from left corner then Hinkle and Price each added a free throw, giving the Trojans a 38-34 advantage.
May drove the right side and lofted a high shot high off the glass for two and Rockwell turned an offensive rebound into two free throws as Heber tied the game at 38-all before Fields got a tip-in for Marianna.
Rockwell fired back with a strong drive and finish in traffic but Smith answered with a jump shot from left elbow before Rockwell countered with a 3-pointer from deep on the left wing, giving the Panthers a 43-42 lead.
But Marianna closed the third period with a 7-0 spurt as Smith amazingly kept control on a drive and flipped the ball in the basket then Tevin Westbrook swiped a steal that led to an old-fashioned 3-point play from Demarcus Price. Smith came flying in for a stick back in transition to complete the Trojans’ run as Heber faced a 49-43 deficit entering the fourth quarter.
The Trojans picked up where they left off in the fourth quarter as Hinkle found Matthews for a breakaway layup but Heber began chipping away as May popped a 3-pointer from right corner and Brock hit a leaner in the lane.
With Heber trailing by three, Hinkle scored inside before Brock made a free throw but Hinkle pulled down an offensive rebound and sank a jumper from left elbow, pushing the Trojans’ lead to 55-49.
With just over 4:30 remaining, Austin Brown scored in transition but Hampton got a putback before Brock hit two from the stripe. After Josh Wyers made one of three free throws for Marianna, May came up with a steal that led to a driving basket by Brock, plus contact.
Brock completed the 3-point play as the Panthers pulled within two but Smith grabbed his own miss and scored. Heber kept scrapping as May came away with a loose ball and hit Brock, who found Rockwell for a short jumper, plus the foul. Rockwell completed the 3-point play as the Panthers pulled within a point.
With 40.4 seconds remaining, Edwards made a free throw that gave the Trojans a 2-point cushion before Brock nailed the critical step-back 3-pointer from top of the key. Marianna misfired on its next possession and Rockwell was fouled while going for the rebound. Rockwell made both free throws with 12.3 seconds remaining and once Marianna had two 3-point attempts rim out, the Panthers celebrated their biggest victory of the season.
Edwards led Marianna with 15 points while Smith and Matthews each finished with 12.
Rockwell scored a game-high 21 points for Heber while Brock followed with 19, Austin Brown added nine and May tallied eight.
After battling Southside Batesville Tuesday on the road, the Panthers host Stuttgart on Friday.
Heber Springs, Ark. —
