THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Hot Springs High School Athletics

Hot Springs Coach Rodney Echols admitted his team was nervous going its matchup with Greenbrier on Tuesday, but it took 20 seconds for those jitters to go away. The Trojans scored 11 consecutive points in the first quarter to grab a lead, then took advantage of a rash of Greenbrier turnovers in the second quarter to roll to a 61-49 victory in the first round of the Class 5A boys state tournament at Maumelle High School. Sophomore forward Santiair Thomas had 13 points, 8 rebounds and 6 blocks for Hot Springs (22-11), which didn't flinch after Greenbrier opened the game with a three-pointer. Junior guard Eddie Miles added 12 points, all in the first half, and senior guard Curtis Frierson chipped in 10. The victory sends the Trojans to the second round, where they will face either Little Rock Christian or Blytheville on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. Hot Springs shot 20 of 43 from the floor and forced 21 turnovers. Junior forward A.J. Matthews finished with 12 points and 15 rebounds for Greenbrier (19-10), which made several pushes late but ran out of gas after expending a great deal of energy trying to dig itself out of a huge hole. Senior forward Devin Clark also had 12 points and sophomore guard Kobe Dunlap had 11. Dunlap's three-pointer 13 seconds into the game gave Greenbrier a 3-0 lead, but Hot Springs scored the next 11 points and never looked back. "We had about three of four minutes where it was nerves for us, and then we had a little outburst that got us going," Echols said. "Scoring 26 points in that first quarter was big for us, especially with a team full or sophomores and juniors. We were able to make some shots and create some turnovers that allowed us to get out and run some. "And by doing those things, we were able to build a nice lead by the half." The Trojans forced seven turnovers in the second quarter and led by as many as 21 before holding a 40-23 lead at halftime. Hot Springs continued to push the pace in the second half and had a 45-27 lead by the midway point of the third quarter after a Frierson free throw, but Greenbrier, which was 17-of-55 shooting, never quit. The Panthers eventually drew as close as 53-46 after Matthews' layup with 1:41 left. Greenbrier could have gotten closer but missed five consecutive free throws over a 45-second span and never scored again. Hot Springs hit 7 of 8 free throws in the final minute to set the final score. "We kinda got away from what we were doing in the first half and started playing not to lose," Echols said. "But we continued to do a great job on the defensive end and boxed them out when we could. They made a run there late, but we fought through it and held on to get that win."

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Hot Springs High School Athletics

HOT SPRINGS OVERCOMES NERVES

ERICK TAYLOR

Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette | 2/28/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Benjamin Krain