The Wildcat basketball team (8-13,3-4) knew they would have to compete at in tip top shape in front of an overloaded Homecoming crowd Friday (Jan. 25) night’s overloaded Homecoming crowd.
“[A big crowd] gives you more motivation to win and do things right,” said junior shooting guard Rickey Jones.
The Wildcats competed against the Rogers Mounties (8-12,1-6) for their Homecoming game.
The Wildcats went out and held a slim lead throughout the first half and went into halftime with a two point lead.
Coming out of halftime the Wildcats went on a 17-0 run. This helped the Wildcats put away the Mounties for good and won 59-51. Being able to close out and finish games was a major problem for last years’ Wildcat basketball team. All three of this years’ conference wins were won during the 4th quarter.
“This year we’ve learned how to finish,” said senior center Alex Rice. “Last year I think we lacked the focus aspect to finish a game. Win or lose, I think we are getting better every game.”
Rice led the team with 14 points, Jones added 9 points, and junior shooting guard Austin Fox scored 4 points.
A conference victory at home is always a boost for a team’s confidence and their outlook for the remainder of the season.
“We’ve become stronger and faster,” said Fox. “We’ve come closer as a family and our chemistry continues to grow as we mature.”
Second round of conference play starts on Feb. 1 against Siloam Springs.
“I think we have a chance to finish around 3rd or 4th seed going into the State Playoffs,” said Rice. “That’s something no one has been able to say about Har-Ber basketball in a while.”