Beebe's boys had an answer for every run Siloam Springs made Friday night.
The Badgers came out firing and opened up a double-digit first-half lead. The Panthers cut it down to a single possession twice in the second half, but each time Beebe hit a big shot to finish off a 53-41 5A-West Conference victory on homecoming at Panther Activity Center.
5A-West Conference standings
Boys^Overall^Conf.
Team^W-L^W-L
Russellville^18-4^8-0
Beebe^10-10^5-3
LR Christian^11-8^5-3
Vilonia^16-5^5-3
Alma^12-9^4-4
Siloam Springs^12-7^3-5
Greenbrier^6-14^2-6
Greenwood^3-18^0-8
Last week
February 7
Beebe 53, Siloam Springs 41
LR Christian 71 Greenwood 47
Russellville 65, Greenbrier 51
Alma 82, Vilonia 77
This week
Tuesday’s games
Alma at Siloam Springs
Beebe at Vilonia
Greenbrier at LR Christian
Greenwood at Russellville
Friday’s games
Siloam Springs at Greenbrier
LR Christian at Alma
Russellville at Beebe
Vilonia at Greenwood
With the win, the Badgers (10-10, 5-3) remained in top four teams in the 5A-West Conference as the second round of league play began. The Panthers (12-7, 3-5), meanwhile, fell further behind the pack with the loss.
"We were looking for those score-stop-score opportunities, and we got to them," said Siloam Springs coach Tim Stewart. "Unfortunately we were never quite able to get that kill shot, and their kids hit big shots. It all starts coming out a bit sluggish and getting in a hole. Unfortunately, we weren't able to come all the way back, and give Beebe a lot of credit. They were able to handle the ball and hit their free throws and hit huge shots down the stretch."
The Badgers solved Siloam Springs' 3-2 zone defense, banging three 3-pointers in the first quarter and a 17-10 lead. The Panthers switched to a man-to-man defense, but the Badgers still outscored Siloam Springs 9-4 in the second quarter for a 26-14 halftime lead.
Siloam Springs opened the second half on a 10-0 run to pull within 26-24, but Beebe's Austin Smith hit a 3-pointer to answer, kickstarting a 7-0 Badgers run to close the third quarter for a 33-24 lead.
The Panthers whittled that lead down to 38-35 in the fourth, but Beebe's Logan Worthington hit two 3-pointers in consecutive possessions to break the Panthers' backs.
"Logan Worthington missed some open really good looks during that stretch, but boy he came up big late," said Beebe coach Ryan Marshall. "It's a good win for us. We're so young and we're really starting to figure out the toughness we've got to play with."
Smith finished with 16 points to lead Beebe, while Rylie Marshall had 15 and Worthington 14.
Josh Stewart led Siloam Springs with 11 points and Evan Sauer and Landon Ward each had 10, Thad Wright seven, Drew Vachon two and Jackson Ford one.
The Panthers host Alma on Tuesday night.
Beebe 53, Siloam Springs 41
Beebe^17^9^7^20^--^53
Siloam Springs^10^4^10^17^--^41
Beebe (10-10, 5-3): Smith 16, Marshall 15, Worthington 14, Nail 6, Godwin 2.
Siloam Springs (12-7, 3-5): Stewart 11, Sauer 10, Ward 10, Wright 7, Vachon 2, Ford 1.
Sports on 02/10/2020