Slowly but surely, Bentonville Gold has steadily crept into the upper portion of the boys standings as February approaches in the Northwest Arkansas Conference.

The Tigers (8-6, 4-1) have a big challenge tonight as the Fayetteville Ramay Indians come to town. Ramay won the conference a year ago and is a half game behind Gold and a full game behind conference leading Fayetteville Woodland.

“We have had an up and down season so far,” Gold coach John Mackey said.

Mackey said he believes his point guard, Jordan Hemphill, is one of the best at his position in the conference.

Ramay (10-4, 3-1) is in good position within the league as well, and head coach Jordan Rose knows each game means something the rest of the way.

“Gold is playing really well recently,” Rose said. “They play extremely hard and are very well coached. Every game right now is so crucial in conference and regional aspects.”

This week also has a lot at stake for the Ramay Lady Indians, who are a game back of both Woodland and Springdale Southwest.

Ramay (12-3, 3-1) hosts Gold tonight and is at Southwest on Thursday.

“Big games this week as we enter the halfway part of conference,” Ramay coach Liz Caudle said. “We are going to have to work very hard defensively and rebound well in order to be successful.”

Rogers Heritage’s boys, meanwhile, have yet to break through with a conference win thus far. That’s not to say the War Eagles haven’t been competitive.

Inclement weather that moved into the area Sunday means the likely cancellation of school and the postponement of tonight’s games, so teams will likely be forced to reschedule for a later date.