SPRINGDALE — Springdale Har-Ber pulled an early-season surprise with a victory over Forrest City, but that was followed by a 33-point loss to Jonesboro.
Both games came in the Rumble on The Ridge Tournament, where the Wildcats went 1-2.
“Beating Forrest City is certainly something to build on,” said Scott Bowlin, Har-Ber’s first-year head coach. “We played really well defensively made our shots. But that Jonesboro game showed that we’ve got to bring it every night. We’re a team that’s still in the works.”
Bowlin’s search for consistency continues in a tournament at Willard, Mo., where the Wildcats (3-2) joined the Lady Wildcats (2-0). The Har-Ber teams left Wednesday and hope to stay through the tournament finals on Saturday. Both played fi rst-round games Thursday night that were not completed by press time.
The Har-Ber boys were hoping for a warmup game against Benton before heading to Forrest City, but Benton canceled. That didn’t slow down the Wildcats, who beat Forrest City and 6-foot-10 center Trey Thompson, who will play next season at Arkansas.
Har-Ber’s happiness didn’t last long when the Wildcats were drilled 62-29 in round two by Jonesboro. Har-Ber then finished the tournament with a 71-68 loss to Huntsville (Ala.). Lee. Har-Ber displayed balanced scoring in the game with 18 points from Mason Cline, 17 from Brandon Buccheri, and 15 from Austin Fox, who scored all his points in the fi rst half.
“Jonesboro is one of the top teams in Arkansas and Huntsville Lee went 32-4 last year in Alabama,” Bowlin said. “We got the lead on Huntsville Lee but couldn’t hold it at the end.”
Both Har-Ber teams won on Tuesday in a sweep over Class 4A Pea Ridge. Landon Jones fi nished with 17 points for the Wildcats, who trailed 28-24 late in the fi rst half.
“We’ve had different guys with good games,” Bowlin said. “But we’re still waiting for fi ve guys to show up every night. We’re still very inconsistent.”