SILOAM SPRINGS -- The Siloam Springs boys basketball team picked up its first win of the season Tuesday, and the Panthers looked good doing it.
Nate Vachon scored 20 points, Carter Winesburg had 16 and Josh Stewart 15 as the Panthers rolled by Rogers Heritage 67-42 inside Panther Activity Center.
The Panthers (1-2) never trailed, jumping out to a double-digit first quarter lead and leading by as many as 24 in the first half before Heritage cut the deficit to 16 at halftime.
The War Eagles trimmed it to down to 11 early in the third quarter, but Siloam Springs responded with an 8-0 run to retake control.
"We got the big lead and getting players to play their best with the big lead is a challenge," Siloam Springs Coach Tim Stewart said. "Lot of good learning lessons."
Leading 17-7 after the first quarter, Vachon hit two straight baskets to open the second quarter. He would go on to hit two three-pointers and convert a three-point play, scoring 13 points in the second quarter.
"If we find him in rhythm, he can hit them every night," Stewart said of Vachon, a junior.
Josh Stewart, who sat most of the second quarter with foul trouble, scored 12 points in the third quarter, including two three-point plays and a three-pointer.
The Panthers avenged a 68-60 loss in their season-opener at Heritage last season when War Eagles guard Micah Hill scored 32 points, including 17 in the fourth quarter. On Tuesday, Hill was held to 18 points, hitting four three-pointers.
"Defensively, keeping a team like Heritage out of rhythm, keeping a shooter like Micah Hill out of rhythm, keeping [Carson] Simmons and [Jaden] Torres in check is big defensive win for us," Stewart said. "Then you add to the fact that offensively it's the first night where offense really got moving and the ball went in the hole."