HARRISON — Springdale High coach Brad Stamps got his wish Tuesday night.
For the first time this season, the Red’Dogs executed their offense to near perfection, they hustled up-and-down the court and played the kind of defense Stamps has been preaching since his arrival March.
Because of the performance, Springdale outlasted a scrappy Mena team 68-44 and earned a berth in today’s championship game of the Lendel Thomas Classic.
Springdale (7-4) will play Harrison at 8:45 p.m. today for the tournament’s title.
“It doesn’t matter who you’re playing, you have to respect everyone,” Stamps said. “We respected (Mena). As the game went on, our guys figured out, ‘Hey, these guys can play.’
“It was a game where we had to execute, and we executed our offense as well as we have all year.”
Led by the dominant inside duo of junior Curtis Evans and senior T.J. Andrews, who combined for 39 points, Springdale got productive minutes from guards Tony Dennis and Evan Johnson to maintain its early lead.
Evans also finished with five blocks for the second straight game and 11 rebounds.
After a sluggish start, Johnson — he finished with four points — provided the spark the Red’Dogs needed on defense to help them gain an edge.
“Evan is such a team player, he’s a kid that does anything we ask of him,” Stamps said. “He gave us some really good minutes (Tuesday), he did exactly what we needed him to do and it showed in the final score.”
After Mena (8-5) jumped out to a 7-0 lead to start the game, Springdale slowly battled back with an 13-6 run that was capped off by a post shot from Johnson and two foul shots from sophomore Kempys Robinson.
Offensively, the Bearcats were paced by senior Randy Peters, who scored a game-high 22 points.
With a 5-point lead, Springdale took off to start the second half with a 10-0 run that extended its lead to 15 points.
“We came out and matched their intensity,” Mena coach Bobby Tedder said. “But we couldn’t sustain that. In the second half, Springdale started scoring a bunch and we couldn’t keep up. That’s a good basketball team, they’re very physical.”
In the second half, the Red’Dogs shot 67 percent (16 of 24) from the floor and forced the Bearcats into seven turnovers.
“That’s the best we’ve played all year,” Stamps said. “We talked about before the season that we wanted to win championships, and this week, we’ve put ourselves in a position to win one. Now we just have to carry over what we’ve started and keep it up.”
Huntsville 55, Heber Springs 39
GIRLS — Huntsville senior Martha Robinson scored a team-high 24 points as the Lady Eagles easily beat Heber Springs.
Huntsville (11-4), which is the two-time defending champion of the Lendel Thomas Classic, will play Fort Smith Southside at 7:30 p.m. in today’s championship game.
The Lady Eagles, who led the entire game, benefitted from Robinson’s dominant post play as she scored 12 points in both halves.
Harrison 60, Huntsville 58
BOYS — Huntsville couldn’t hold on to an early 13-point lead as Harrison rallied at the end of the first half and held on for a close victory.
Huntsville (11-2) will play Mena at 6:15 p.m. today in the tournament consolation game.
The Eagles, which had only four players score points, were led by Tucker Trumbo’s 19 points while Skylar Houston and Taylor Counts both scored 15.
Harrison bounced back from the early deficit with several 3-pointers, including three from Taylor Martin and two from Lucas Collins.