SILOAM SPRINGS -- Siloam Springs' boys have been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, but the Panthers aren't playing like it here lately.
Four Siloam Springs players scored in double figures and the Panthers won their second straight 5A-West Conference game 66-52 against Little Rock Christian 66-52 at Panther Activity Center.
"Man we're so proud of the boys," Siloam Springs coach Tim Stewart said. "They're playing their guts out right now when mathematically we're out. We've been really preaching to them about playing for pride, playing for each other, having fun and being the hardest working team. To see them do that, and to see guys have their best games, as coaches, it's a real joy to see."
Junior guard Evan Sauer hit three 3-pointers and led the Panthers (9-14, 4-8) with 16 points and senior guard Murphy Perkins added 14, but it was the Panthers' production down low that got the job done.
Senior Jacob Wakefield scored a season-high 15 points, and junior post Thad Wright muscled his way to a season-high 14 for Siloam Springs, which again was outsized by a bigger Warriors team.
"It was really just a team effort," Wakefield said. "I mean, we knew coming into this game that we shouldn't have won that game, but we really just came together and put it all together and played for each other and played for a bigger purpose outside of just winning the basketball game."
Little Rock Christian (11-3, 6-6) scored the opening points of the game on a 3-pointer by Colin Cooper, but Siloam Springs scored the next nine points to take the lead for good.
The Panthers led by double digits in the second quarter, but Little Rock Christian cut the lead to 33-26 at halftime. The Panthers got it back to double digits in the third after a baskets by Perkins, a 3-pointer for Drew Vachon. Wakefield's basket at the end of the third put Siloam Springs ahead 47-35.
The Warriors made one last run in the fourth, whittling the lead down to 53-47, but the Panthers finished off the game with baskets from Sauer and Wakefield and going 8 of 9 from the free-throw line as a team.
Siloam Springs 66, LR Christian 52
LR Christian^11^15^9^17^--^52
Siloam Springs^13^20^14^19^--^66
LR Christian (11-13, 6-6): Grawer 12, Cooper 11, Finley 9, Sorvillo 9, Wood 4, K. Givens 4, B. Givens 3.
Siloam Springs (9-14, 4-8): Sauer 16, Wakefield 15, Wright 14, Perkins 14, Vachon 7.
Girls
Little Rock Christian 68, Siloam Springs 37
Little Rock Christian used a 15-0 run to re-establish control and roll to a 68-37 5A-West victory over the Lady Panthers.
The Lady Warriors (23-2, 11-1) jumped out to a 20-6 lead, but Siloam Springs went on a 9-1 run to cut the score to 21-15 in the second quarter.
Little Rock Christian then scored the next 15 points to get its lead back up to 21 points.
The Lady Warriors led 38-17 at halftime and 57-26 heading into the fourth quarter.
Amber Brown, who's signed with Pittsburgh, led the Lady Warriors with 18 points, while Wynter Rodgers had 17.
Chloe Price led Siloam Springs (9-16, 6-6) with 13 points. The Lady Panthers host Russellville on Tuesday in a game with major playoff implications.
LR Christian 68, Siloam Springs 37
LR Christian^21^17^19^11^--^68
Siloam Springs^12^5^9^11^--^37
LR Christian (23-2, 11-1): Brown 18, Rodgers 17, Burnett 9, Bradley 7, Elley 6, Hopper 6, Robeson 2, Isom 2, Hicks 1.
Siloam Springs (9-16, 6-6): Price 13, Fortner 7, Hevener 5, Pfeiffer 3, Brown 3, Still 2, Efurd 2, Shreve 2.
Sports on 02/16/2019