The last time the Siloam Springs boys basketball team played in the Republic (Mo.) boys basketball tournament, the Panthers' time was short and not so sweet.
The Panthers were thrashed by host Republic 83-34 in December 2013, then the rest of the tournament was canceled because of winter weather.
Two years later, Siloam Springs is hoping for better results when the team once again faces Republic in the opening round of the 51st annual tournament at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
"It's the kind of team that's fun to go play," said Panthers head boys coach Tim Stewart. "Obviously, we want to be a little tougher than we were last time, but it's that good, early-season game. We know it's going to be a test."
Siloam Springs and Rogers Heritage are the only teams from Arkansas in the tournament, which is a three-game guarantee and begins Monday and runs Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. Other teams are Missouri schools Belton, West Plains, Rogersville, Ozark, Rolla and host Republic.
The game will be the season-opener for the Tigers, who won Missouri Class 4 championships in 2013 and 2014 before going 14-13 last season and losing to Nixa (Mo.) in the district championship.
"They're going to play tough man-to-man defense," Stewart said of Republic. "They're going to be physical. There's a reason they've been so successful over the last five years. They play in that conference with Nixa and Kickapoo. It's a tough, tough place to play so we're excited, and I think our kids are excited for the challenge. I think it's going to be a really good test for us."
The Panthers (1-0) opened their season on Nov. 19 with a 66-40 mercy-rule win at Gravette. Sophomore Marquan Sorrells led the Panthers with 16 points against the Lions, while senior Kyle Snavely chipped in 13 points.
Siloam Springs went on a 19-0 run in the third quarter to turn an eight-point lead into a blow out.
The team practiced Monday and Tuesday of last week before taking off for Thanksgiving break. The plan was to return to practice today and Monday before traveling to Republic on Tuesday.
51st annual Republic (Mo.) Boys Basketball Tournament
Monday-Saturday
Republic (Mo.) High School
Monday's games
Game 1: Belton (Mo.) vs. West Plains (Mo.), 6 p.m.
Game 2: Rogersville (Mo.) vs. Ozark (Mo.), 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday's games
Game 3: Rolla (Mo.) vs. Rogers Heritage, 6 p.m.
Game 4: Republic (Mo.) vs. Siloam Springs, 7:30 p.m.
Friday's games
Game 5: Loser G1 vs. Loser G2, 4 p.m.
Game 6: Loser G3 vs. Loser G4, 5:30 p.m.
Game 7: Winner G1 vs. Winner G2, 7 p.m.
Game 8: Winner G3 vs. Winner G4, 8:30 p.m.
Saturday's games
Seventh place: Loser G5 vs. Loser G6, 11 a.m.
Consolation: Winner G5 vs. Winner G6, 12:30 p.m.
Third place: Loser G7 vs. Loser G8, 2 p.m.
Championship: Winner G7 vs. Winner G8, 3:30 p.m.
Sports on 11/29/2015