Photos by Kevin Nagle
The Bryant Hornets freshman team put themselves in position to earn a tie for second place in the Central Arkansas Junior High Conference when they pinned a 53-28 loss on the Cabot Red Panthers on Monday night at the Bryant Middle School gym.
The win improved the Hornets to 12-11 overall and 5-3 in league play going into the final game of the regular season finale against Conway White at home on Thursday. Benton and Lake Hamilton are also 5-3. Conway White is currently in second place with a 6-2 conference mark, behind only unbeaten North Little Rock.
“We played a very good defensive game,” said Hornets coach Tyler Posey. “We really came out strong looking to prove something. We executed well and made some good shots. We applied great pressure on the ball and really did a good job cleaning up the glass.”
The Hornets led 10-5 after a quarter and expanded the margin every period after that. It was 22-11 at the half, 44-18 going into the fourth quarter.
Rodney Lambert led the scoring with 13 points. Randy Thomas added 10 and Blaise Smith 8. Henry Terry scored 6 while Twanye Mitchell, Josh Robinson and Maleek McClendon came through with 5 apiece.
The teams are vying for seeding at the CAJHC conference championship tournament to be held in Russellville starting Wednesday, Feb. 17.