SPRINGDALE -- Memories come flooding back whenever Brad Stamps glances at a row of team photos from his first four years at Springdale High on his office wall in Bulldog Gym.

The fifth addition to the wall is sure to spark plenty of good memories when he hangs it in the near future.

"Other people come in here and they look up here and remember each team that's up on the wall," Stamps said. "I remember the faces and the personalities more than I do the teams."

The individuals from this year's Springdale team comprised a tight-knit group that won a share of the 7A/6A-West Conference title, was the West's No. 1 overall seed and finished as the Class 7A state runner-up after advancing to just the program's second state title game.

"It's a group that you grow fond of just because you're with them so often," Stamps said. "I watched them grow up as junior high kids. How they've grown and matured over the years has been fun to watch. How they came together at the right time, I'll always remember."

Stamps' fifth year at Springdale was the program's best since finishing as state runner-up in 1998.

The Bulldogs went 22-6, dropping two hard-fought games to state champion North Little Rock by a combined 20 points, including an 89-81 loss in the state finals. But they weren't far from finishing 26-2, losing two one-possession games thanks to struggles at the free throw line and two more on last-second buzzer beaters, including a tough February loss at Siloam Springs they had to bounce back from.

"Psychologically, that was a turning point for us whenever we got them back in here and got them back for the stretch run to say, 'Hey, we still control our own destiny,'" Stamps said. "And they kind of adopted that mindset that we weren't going to lose. After that Siloam game, we finished the season 6-1."

It was Springdale's first 20-win year and conference championship season since 2000. And it was arguably the best basketball season in program history.

"I'm not saying it's the best team, but it'll go down as one of the best teams to ever play here," Stamps said. "In my opinion, short term, it was a group that just believed in each other and played for each other. That was the most important thing. They didn't really care who got the credit. They just played."

Springdale was led by the explosive trio of Chris Owens (team-high 12.6 points per game), Tereke Eckwood (12.1) and D.J. Evans (11.4). They consistently made plays down the stretch to help the Bulldogs thrive in the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs also had several key role players. Seniors Josiah Wymer (8.6 points, 8.3 rebounds) and Brendan Cook (5.9, 2.9) provided a presence inside, while junior TreShawn Gause was a harassing on-ball defender off the bench.

The mesh of talent and attitudes allowed the Bulldogs to gel for a more successful season than past Springdale teams that were perhaps more talented.

"They had that extra refuse-to-lose mentality," Stamps said. "There were so many games they broke open in the third or fourth quarter with a run. That surge that, 'Hey, we're not losing tonight.' Every game that was close you just felt like at any moment, 'Here we go.' You knew it was going to happen. You just didn't know when."

Springdale will have to fill some holes next year thanks to graduation. Evans has offers from some of the top junior college programs in the nation, while Wymer is headed to play football at Central Arkansas.

But Eckwood, Owens, Gause and a number of other experienced players will return, indicating Springdale should remain in the mix at the top of 7A.

"It's been a building block each year," Stamps said. "This year, we got to where we wanted to go. Now the only next step we have is to win the last one. We're not going to stop until we get that done."

Sports on 03/22/2014