HOT SPRINGS — The Bryant White Hornets of Bryant Middle School bounced back from their[more] first loss of the season and improved to 10-1 with a 33-16 thumping of the Hot Springs Lakeside Junior Rams Thursday night.
Bryant White also won the seventh grade game, 30-15.
The seventh grade Hornets, now 5-3, will close out their season on Thursday, Jan. 31, at Bryant High School gym against Lighthouse Charter School. The eighth grade Hornets play Lighthouse that night too then close out the campaign at Conway Blue on Thursday, Feb. 7.
The eighth grade game was tied 2-2 after a quarter but then the Hornets roared to a 21-point second period to take a 23-9 lead into half.
Romen Martin scored 14 points, Brandon Harris 9 and Tyler Kelly 5.
“We had the type of performance that I had hoped for after our loss on Tuesday night,” stated Bryant White coach Heath Long. “We executed pretty well, other than a few turnovers against their 1-3-1. We also shot the ball really well, making five 3’s during our run in the second quarter.
“I also felt that, for the most part, we did a really good job of defending them,” he added.
In the seventh grade game, the Hornets pushed out to a 14-6 advantage by the end of the first quarter. They led 17-8 at the half before Lakeside rallied, cutting the margin to 20-15 going into the fourth quarter. But Bryant White just out the Rams in the final period to expand the lead and close out the win.
Tristan Calhoun pumped in 14 points for the Hornets. Brandon Hill added 8 with JonLuke Sprout and Scott Schmidt pitching in 4 apiece.
“We got off to a fast start then had a little trouble scoring against their zone,” Long related. “Our effort was good but there were times that we needed to execute a little better on both ends of the floor. However, it is good to be able to get a win when you don’t have your absolute best game.”
