The senior-laden Harrison boys have shown stretches of strong play, but Coach David Stahler said they also have had some struggles, too.
"We have some lulls in games," Stahler said. "Like against Mountain Home (on Tuesday), we had a 13-point lead in the third quarter and in the fourth quarter we were down four."
Harrison (14-4) found a way to pick up the win over Mountain Home to begin 5A-West Conference play as Hayden Martin scored late for a 64-62 win. Stahler also pointed to a game against Bentonville West where the Goblins weren't so fortunate.
"We were leading by seven in the fourth quarter against West and lost at the buzzer," Stahler said. "That type of stuff we've got to eliminate."
The Goblins have plenty of offensive firepower with three players averaging in double figures led by two-time all-state selection Ryder Scribner. Martin and Cole Cecil also average in double figures. Jackson Criner, who started at quarterback on the football team, is also rounding into form, Stahler said.
Criner got a key steal in the final seconds that contributed to the Goblins' win earlier this week and also added 10 points.
With six seniors in their top eight players, Harrison has plenty of experience. But Stahler noted his team lost leads late in five games last season, which left a sour taste.
"We didn't have any seniors last year, so we've basically got the whole team back," Stahler said. "They won 19 games and just had some really bad breaks to keep them out of the state tournament, and I think they're using that as motivation this year."
-- Paul Boyd
PEA RIDGE GIRLS
Lady Blackhawks learning to finish
Lady Blackhawks Coach Heath Neal is pleased for sure about his team's 3-0 start in 4A-1 Conference play.
Pea Ridge and Berryville are currently tied atop the 4A-1 league standings.
But with a 10-9 overall record, Neal believes the group is learning how to finish games.
"We're almost there," he said.
Neal pointed to a tough 58-51 win over Alma a couple of weeks back to finish out their own tournament.
"On paper, they're probably better than us, but we outplayed them and learned how to finish a game down the stretch," Neal said.
The Lady Blackhawks jumped to a 24-4 lead at Green Forest on Tuesday and cruised to the 43-27 league win.
Makenzie Stites is Pea Ridge's do-it-all point guard. The junior averages 17 points per game in league play to go with 4 rebounds, 4 steals and 4 assists. Neal said Stites' scoring is something that has blossomed.
"Scoring is something we've developed with her. She's always been a facilitator for us," Neal said. "And she's drawing everybody's best player every night. She's a gamer. We baptized her by fire when she was 90 pounds soaking wet as a freshman. She's doing a great job embracing that pressure. And her basketball IQ is growing."
But she has help in that category.
Makena Ward, Brooklyn Winn and Jaslyn Dixon are all averaging around 10 points per game in league play. Ward and Dixon are also all-around contributors. Ward is averaging more than 8 rebounds and almost 3 assists in league play, while Dixon is grabbing 5 rebounds, while dishing out 3 assists to go with 2.3 steals.
-- Paul Boyd
HUNTSVILLE BOYS
Eagles have multiple weapons
River Gosvener is quick to refer to Huntsville's boys as a group that is playing his style of basketball.
It's because the Eagles have a balanced scoring attack this year, and it's played a key role in Huntsville's 3-0 start in a 4A-1 Conference race that he considers to be the most balanced it's been in quite some time.
"We've got a different guy every night leading us offensively," Gosvener said. "It makes it tough on other teams defensively because you can't just key on one guy. The guys share the ball really well, and each guy gets his turn every other night.
"I've been fortunate to have some players the past couple of years -- Kobe Ogden, Mason Davidson, guys like that -- and teams center their defense around those guys. It's tough this year because all five guys can score and all five guys shoot it, and I think that's a big part of our success."
Huntsville (14-5) had three players score in double figures Tuesday night as the Eagles resumed league play with a 75-54 victory over Gentry. Caden Smith had 19 points, followed by Taten Scales with 17 and Rowdy Thomas with 16.
"We're off to a good start and done everything we can do," Gosvener said. "But there's no off nights when it comes to conference play. Anybody can beat anyone. It's going to be competitive, so we need to be ready every night and take care of the things we need to take care of.
"It's worked well for us, and they're fun to watch. I just hope we can keep it going."
Huntsville's game Friday against Shiloh Christian was postponed, so the Eagles will now turn their attention to Tuesday's game against rival Berryville.
-- Henry Apple
SHILOH CHRISTIAN GIRLS
Lady Saints playing well
The Lady Saints have been trending in the right direction ever since the end of last season when they upset Gentry in the district tournament to earn its first regional tournament bid in nearly a decade.
That's carried over into this year, and the Lady Saints continued their winning ways again Tuesday with a 51-24 win at home against Prairie Grove in a 4A-1 Conference game.
"It was a really good win for us," said Shiloh Christian Coach Heath Petten.
The Lady Saints improved to 12-6 overall and 2-1 in league play with their fourth consecutive victory. And they used balanced scoring to get there.
Sophomore Lauren McCredy led with 11 points and 9 rebounds. Seniors Katie Ditch and Avery Beers each had nine points, and sophomore Hadley Carnes had eight.
"That's been pretty consistent for us," Petten said. "Usually seven to eight score every day. It's nice when a lot of kids are going to contribute in a lot of different areas."
The Lady Saints also continued their good defensive play. They led 21-7 after the first quarter and shut out Prairie Grove in the second quarter to take a 34-7 halftime lead.
"The last two games we've played, we've held teams to single digits at halftime," Petten said. "We're getting after people."
After Friday's game against Huntsville was postponed by winter weather, Shiloh Christian plays at Gentry on Tuesday.
-- Graham Thomas
OZARK CATHOLIC BOYS
With Ozark Catholic having its 2A-1 Conference game Thursday at Alpena and a nonconference game Friday against Northwest Arkansas Home Schools being postponed, it makes the importance of last week's games stand out even more.
The Griffins (20-4) used last week to schedule nonconference games against Conway St. Joseph and Cutter-Morning Star. Otherwise, Ozark Catholic's next game -- Tuesday at Life Way Christian -- would be its first since a 59-49 win over Ozark Mountain on Dec. 20.
"That was huge for us," Ozark Catholic Coach Cody Vaught said. "We've been playing Conway St. Joseph for a few years now at a neutral site -- either Clarksville or Johnson County Westside. It's a good deal for Catholic schools to play each other.
"I don't mind Christmas tournaments, but I like giving my guys a little more time off. We reached out to every 2A school in the state that was supposed to be competitive and asked if they would play us. Cutter-Morning Star said they would play us and come to our place next year, so it worked our perfect."
The Griffins defeated St. Joseph 77-54, but Vaught said that game turned out to be a sloppy one. However, it set things up for the next day, when Ozark Catholic earned a 70-50 victory over Cutter-Morning Star.
Shep Newcomb led the Griffins in both games and scored a combined 58 points. A surprise came Ozark Catholic's way in the form of Matthew Sanchez, who scored 15 points in the first half.
"We have a sophomore that averaged 3 minutes a game hit five three-pointers," Vaught said. "Cutter has been in the final four the last two years, and that really helped us to build a big lead and hold them off."
-- Henry Apple
VALLEY SPRINGS GIRLS
If Valley Springs' game at Melbourne last Tuesday is any indication, the rest of the 3A-2 Conference season could be a wild ride.
"Oh buddy, you ain't joking," first-year Lady Tigers Coach and Valley Springs alum Dawson Yates said.
The Lady Tigers jumped on the Lady Bearkatz to the tune of a 12-6 lead after the first quarter and led 24-15 at halftime.
The Lady Bearkatz switched to a 1-3-1 defense in the second half and outscored the Lady Tigers 15-2 in the third quarter to take a 30-26 lead going into the fourth quarter before holding on for a 40-35 win.
"Give Coach Kelly (Webb) all the credit," Yates said. "He did something he's never done in his 20 years of coaching. He went into a 1-3-1. His girls had never worked on it. He felt that desperate that he had to go to something he's never done before."
Yates said the Lady Tigers will be better prepared for the 1-3-1 next time they face Melbourne on Jan. 31 in Valley Springs.
It was the first conference loss for Valley Springs (21-4, 3-1) in what figures to be a tight conference race. Melbourne improved to 14-2 and 4-0 in league play.
There's also Mountain View (14-5, 5-0), who Valley Springs was scheduled to play Friday before winter weather moved the game to Feb. 11, along with defending 3A champion Bergman (16-7, 3-1) and 3A runner-up Salem (9-4, 1-2).
Valley Springs plays at Bergman on Tuesday in a rivalry game.
"It's going to be a battle," Yates said. "It doesn't matter how good or how bad one team is, it's going to be a fight. It's a battle. This year both teams are really good."
-- Graham Thomas