Savage Heat stand tall in tournament

HOT SPRINGS – The Savage Heat competed at the Divisional Tournament this past week after a well-earned win in the Districts challenge game against the Valley Christian Eagles. Head Coach Ricky DePoe said making it to Divisionals at all meant a lot to the boys.

“We set the goal at the beginning of the year to do that so it was pretty cool to see all their hard work pay off,” Coach DePoe said. “It is harder to get to Divisionals in Class C because there are so many teams with good athletes.”

Jazzed from the victory and earning the right to continue, the Hot Springs boys traveled to meet Twin Bridges in the first round.

After a close first quarter, the Savage Heat trailed behind Two Bridges by a single point and the score was 11-12 going into the second quarter. By then, the Hot Springs boys had warmed up and they scored 20 points in the second quarter compared to the eight points their opposition earned. The score going into the half was 31-20.

Twin Bridges outscored Hot Springs in the third quarter but the Savage Heat held on to the lead. The score going into the last quarter was 42-34. The fourth quarter was close. The Savage Heat had 19 points and Twin Bridges had 15 points. With that, Savage Heat won with a final score of 61-49 and earned the right to move on to the winner’s bracket.

Coach DePoe was pleased with the performance of the boys.

“Our defense really prevailed. They had a good shooter and a good rebounder and we did a good job of shutting them down,” Coach DePoe said. “Every kid was doing their job offensively and defensively.”

Trevor Paro led his team with 15 points. Paro was also two for two on three-pointers. Seniors Jarod White and Jimmy Holland followed with 12 and 11 points respectively.

For the next round of tournament action, the Savage Heat played a close game against the Drummond Trojans.

The Hot Springs boys got off to a slow start against the Trojans. They trailed behind Drummond by 19 points at the end of the first quarter. Things seemed to improve slightly in the second quarter with Drummond only scoring four points more than the Savage Heat. The score going into halftime was 20-43.

The break must have done the Hot Springs boys some good because they rallied and produced an explosive third quarter. They scored 22 points while the Trojans struggled to keep up and earned only four points. The score going into the last quarter was a tight 42-47. In the end, each team put up eleven more points. The Savage Heat lost by five points and the final score was 53-58.

Tanner Hoff was the top scorer of his team this time with 15 points. Holland was second with 14 and Paro was third with 11 points.

According to Coach DePoe, the Savage Heat team was feeling fairly confident with knowing what to expect and what they needed to do against Drummond. They were not prepared for the solid shooting percentage their opponents brought to the court. The Hot Springs boys soon found themselves down a hole difficult to climb out of.

“They had a 23 point lead on us and there were some discouraged faces, but they ended up coming back. Most teams would have given up, but there was no giving up in them,” Coach DePoe said. “I was really impressed with them, but they just couldn’t get over that hump.”

The loss pinned the Savage Heat against the Arlee Warriors in a loser-out match-up.

The Savage Heat had another slow start against Arlee, who doubled the points Hot Springs earned 7-14 in the first quarter.

The second quarter went better for the Savage Heat and they only trailed behind the Warriors by one point in the second quarter. The score going into the half was 19-27.

The Savage Heat managed to out shoot Arlee in the third quarter with 17 points and the score going into the last quarter was a competitive 36-42. The fourth quarter yielded double-digits for both teams but the Warriors fought slightly better. The final score was 54-66 and the season came to an end for the Savage Heat. Their final record was 15-11.

Coach DePoe said the boys were visibly exhausted in the game against Arlee.

“We were emotionally and physically drained from a long two weeks,” Coach DePoe said. “It was a close game and they battled all the way through.”

Hoff was the lead-scorer for his team once again with 19 points. He also had 12 rebounds. Seniors White and Holland put in another strong performance with 14 and 12 points in their final high school basketball game.

Coach DePoe revealed his thoughts and feelings on the season as a whole.

“I felt like this was the best team as far as fixing their mistakes. We never regressed, we always got better,” Coach DePoe said. “All I can say is I am proud of these boys and it was a joy to coach for them.”

Coach DePoe intends to coach again next season.