SILOAM SPRINGS — Siloam Springs got a little payback Tuesday against thirdranked Alma and locked up a playoff berth in the process.
Siloam Springs hit 10 three-pointers and held off a second-half Alma charge for a 47-44 victory at Panther Arena.
The victory locked up a third seed out of the 5A-West Conference for Panthers (20-6, 8-4), and it kept Alma (20-5, 11-2) from clinching the 5A-West Conference title outright.
The Panthers’ victory also avenged a 73-36 loss at Alma on Jan. 25 - Siloam Springs’ most lopsided defeat of the season.
Tempo early was the key for the Panthers, who abandoned their patient offense for an aggressive attack from the perimeter.
“We were 0-3 versus Alma trying to play slow, so we decided they would probably prepare for us holding the ball and trying to milk the clock,” Siloam Springs Coach Johnny Taylor said. “We said let’s come out and shoot it quick and get the tempo going fast.”
Siloam Springs scored all 15 of its first-quarter points on three-pointers and took a 25-17 lead into halftime after Shane Carlson hit a threepointer with just a second remaining before halftime.
“They did a really good job,” Alma Coach Stan Flenor said. “They had a really good game plan.”
Siloam Springs built its lead to 10 points in the second half, but Alma clawed back and eventually took the lead 39-38 in the fourth quarter when Isaac McCoy scored in transition.
Kyle Teague hit a threepointer to get it right back for Siloam Springs. Dee Candaleria made two free throwsfor Alma with 2:51 left to tie it at 41.
Teague scored on Siloam Springs’ next possession to give the Panther a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Tyler Tiger hit two free throws to put Siloam Springs up 47-42 with 48.1 seconds remaining, but McCoy made a pair on the other end to get it back to a one-possession game.
Teague missed three consecutive free throws in two possessions, but McCoy and Austin Duerr were unable to connect on potential gametying three-pointers. Duerr’s attempt was off as time expired.
Teague led Siloam Springs with 22 points and had four three-pointers. Carlson hit five three-pointers and had 17 points.
McCoy led Alma with 18 points, while Gage Jensen scored 12 points off the bench for the Airedales. Alma hit only 2 of 17 from behind the three-point line.
ALMA (44) Candaleria 1 2-2 5, McCoy 5 7-8 , Duerr 1 0-0 2, Peters 0 0-0 0, Hensley 2 1-1 5, Jensen 3 6-8 12, Martin 0 0-2 0, Widders 1 0-0 2. Totals 13 16-21 44.
SILOAM SPRINGS (47) Carlson 6 0-0 17, Tiger 1 2-2 5, Teague 8 2-5 22, Eshnaur0 0-0 0, Henson 1 1-2 3, Comiskey 0 0-0 0, Alexander 0 0-1 0, Logan 0 0-0 0.
Alma (20-5, 11-2) .................. 6 11 15 12 - 44 Siloam Springs (20-6, 8-4) .......15 10 11 11 - 47 Three-point goals - Alma 2 (Candaleria 1, McCoy 1), Siloam Springs 10 (Carlson 5, Teague 4, Tiger 1). Team fouls - Alma 18, Siloam Springs 21. Fouled out - Widders, Alexander, Henson.
GIRLS SILOAM SPRINGS 70, ALMA 42
Siloam Springs hit eight of its first nine shots in the second quarter, and the Lady Panthers (17-7, 9-3) outscored the Airedalettes (14-11, 5-8) 25-8 in the period on their way to their fifth consecutive victory.
Siloam Springs led 21-13 after the first period and went up 46-21 at halftime.
Alma cut the Lady Panthers’ lead to 20 points going into the fourth period.
Allie Wade led Siloam Springs with 19 points, while Laken Grigg scored 17 for Siloam Springs. Makenzie Sharp added 15 for the Lady Panthers.
Caroline Dean, Courtney Nelson and Olivia Folkerts scored eight points each for Alma.
ALMA (42) Brown 2 1-2 7, Dean 3 2-2 8, Mars 1 0-0 2, Rainwater 2 2-5 7, Nelson 2 2-4 8, Folkerts 4 0-0 8, Williams 0 0-0 0, Taylor 0 0-0 0, B. Griffin 1 0-0 2, Short 0 0-0 0, Patterson, 0 0-0 0, Campbell 0 0-0 0, Shepherd 0 0-0 0, A. Griffin 0 0-0 0. Total 15 7-13 42.
SILOAM SPRINGS (70) Wade 8 2-4 19, Lowry 4 2-4 10, Sharp 5 5-6 15, Larkin 1 2-2 4, Grigg 6 4-5 17, Rakestraw 0 0-0 0, Honeycutt 1 1-1 3, Jones 1 0-1 2, Guerra 0 0-0 0, Wise 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 16-23 70.
Alma (14-11, 5-8) ..................13 8 16 15 - 42 Siloam Springs (17-7, 9-3) .......21 25 11 13 - 70 Three-point goals - Alma 5 (Nelson 2, Brown 2, Rainwater 1), Siloam Springs 2 (Grigg 1, Wade 1). Team fouls - Alma 15, Siloam Springs 11. Fouled out - None.
Sports, Pages 19 on 02/23/2011