MOUNTAIN HOME BOYS
Bombers win a wild one
Held to 12 points in the first two quarters and trailing by as many as 20 points in the second half, Mountain Home rallied for an improbable 41-40 home victory over Beebe on Tuesday night.
“It was about as ugly of a first half for us as you’ll ever see,” Mountain Home Coach Josh Fulcher said. “But we were able to stick with it and pull it out.”
Garrett Dietsche, a 6-4 junior forward, picked up a steal and drove in for a layup with eight seconds remaining to give the Bombers (6-11) their first and only lead of the game. Beebe, which was outscored 17-2 in the fourth quarter, got off a potential game-winning shot, but Mountain Home collected the rebound as time expired.
“Momentum is really funny, especially when you’re dealing with 16- and 17-yearolds,” Fulcher said. “I was really proud of our guys. We didn’t try to get it all back on one possession. We showed a lot of growth.”
Mountain Home lost six of its first seven games but the Bombers showed some life during the holiday break, winning three in a row and finishing second in their own tournament.
Beebe (8-9) held Mountain Home to one field goal — a three-pointer by senior guard Landon Crider with 3:52 remaining — in the first quarter. The Badgers led 14-3 after one quarter and 29-12 at the half. Early in the third quarter, Beebe’s lead grew to 32-12 before Mountain Home began to show signs of life.
“We shot poorly and we executed poorly in the first half,” Fulcher said. “We made some halftime adjustments and were reaching for straws. We finally found something that worked.”
Fulcher said his team went into a trapping defense that began to wear on the Badgers. Beebe, however, maintained a 38-24 lead entering the final quarter.
Senior guard Mitch Mc-Donald led Mountain Home with 12 points, while Dietsche finished with 11.
Beebe senior forward Brad Worthington scored a gamehigh 18 points.
FORREST CITY BOYS
Scoring at will
Greene County Tech hit 14 three-pointers against Forrest City on Tuesday night and lost 93-79.
Forrest City senior guard Trajan Norment scored 32 points as the Mustangs overcame a 45-30 deficit during the second quarter to grab the victory. The 93 points was a season high for the Mustangs.
Forrest City (5-11, 3-7) scored the final 15 points of the first half to tie the game at 45-45. The Mustangs also closed out the game by scoring the final eight points.
Senior forward Logan Sapp scored 21 points to lead Greene County Tech (10-5, 4-5 6A/5A-3).
LAST-SECOND SHOTS
Morrilton edged Greenbrier 63-61, thanks to 25 points and 12 rebounds from senior Keondre Jefferson. Greenbrier lost despite 39 points from senior Payden Webb. … North Little Rock’s girls have moved up to No. 21 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 rankings. The Lady Charging Wildcats were No. 22 last week. … Jonesboro’s Ben Harvey scored his team’s first 17 points of the game in Tuesday’s 61-44 victory at Blytheville. He finished with 22 points. … North Little Rock’s boys hit 19 three-pointers in Tuesday’s 90-41 victory over Little Rock Catholic. … In her first game back from suffering a broken hand in early December, Izard County’s Kennedy Cooper scored 18 points in the Lady Cougars’ 48-18 victory over Flippin on Tuesday night. … The Jasper Lady Pirates (22-6) held Bruno-Pyatt to five points Tuesday, winning 60-5. Jasper led 25-0 after one quarter. Sierra Johnson’s 14 points led Jasper.