Saturday, February 2, 2013
SPRINGDALE — Payton Henson got his 2,000th career point and more Friday night at Wildcat Arena.
More importantly for Siloam Springs, the Panthers’ offense seemed to be in much better shape after back-to-back subpar performances last week.
Siloam Springs 17 15 17 15 — 64
Springdale Har-Ber 12 9 6 21 — 48
Siloam Springs (16-3, 6-2): Henson 31, Goddard 9, Gray 9, Leyva 7, Seliga 5, Comiskey 3.
Springdale Har-Ber (8-14, 3-5): L. Jones 9, Fox 8, Malott 5, Jester 5, Rice 5, Buccheri 5, Barrows 4, Vaughn 4, R. Jones 3.
Henson, Siloam Springs’ all-time leading scorer, scored 31 points and grabbed 16 rebounds and the Panthers rolled to a 64-48 win over Springdale Har-Ber.
The Panthers hit 17 of 29 shots from the field and led by as many as 27 points in the second half.
“I was very excited we finally got back in that rhythm,” said Henson, a four-year starter who began the day with 1,994 points and now has 2,025. “The offense has been out of rhythm the past two games. We were a lot more active tonight on offense and not so stagnant.”
Har-Ber trailed 15-12 in the first quarter when Austin Comiskey scored before the buzzer on a breakaway layup. Henson, who had 10 points in the first quarter, then scored nine in the second. Raul Leyva canned a 3-pointer for a 32-21 lead at halftime.
Reece Goddard hit a pair of 3-pointers in the third period as Siloam Springs (16-3, 6-2 7A/6A-West) opened up a 22-point lead. Goddard and Dylan Gray each scored nine points. Henson also had seven offensive rebounds, several of which he deposited in the basket, five assists and three steals. Comiskey added six rebounds.
“Real efficient and took good shots,” said Panthers coach Tim Stewart. “The majority of the game we didn’t settle for marginal shots.”
For Har-Ber (8-14, 3-5), the game was a far cry from the first meeting at Siloam Springs on Jan. 4, when the Panthers had to scrap and claw past the Wildcats in a 69-62 win.
“Whether you watch film or watch it here in person, Siloam Springs got every loose ball,” said Har-Ber coach Adam Simmons. “That goes back to effort and them just wanting it more than us. That’s what hurts the most about tonight. The three things we can control every day we wake up is effort, attitude and concentration. Their effort was better than ours tonight.”
Landon Jones scored eight consecutive points for Har-Ber in the fourth quarter and led the Wildcats with nine points.