Horsemen and Heat square off

HOT SPRINGS - Saturday night’s game between the Plains Horsemen and the Hot Springs Savage Heat ended in a twist, which left the stands going crazy in the fourth quarter.

The first quarter was dominated by the Heat. By the middle of the first quarter, the Heat lead the Horsemen by 8 points and were going strong. Their defense stopped multiple drives by the Horsemen and their offensive sets allowed them to make a couple 3-pointers.

The Horsemen felt the pressure and found a rhythm in the second part of the first quarter and scored 8 points by the end, making their score 12. The Heat remained strong and still lead the way, finishing the first with 19 points.

The Horsemen closed the gap in the second quarter, picking up steam, scoring 6 points by the 4:00 minute mark. The score was a close 18 to 21. The Heat then charged ahead and scored 6 more points and the Horsemen scored 3 points. The Heat still controlled the board, but their lead was decreasing as the Horsemen started to play catch-up.

During the third quarter, the tide started shifting and it looked like Plains was ready to dig into reserves and start fighting. Quickly, the Horsemen scored 4 points, coming within 2 points of the Heat. The Heat could only hold on to at most by a 4 point lead by the 4:00 minute mark. However, by the end of the third quarter, the Heat still lead the way, 36 to 35.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter the stands were going wild and the outcome of the game was unknown, with each team giving all it had. Then the lead shifted. Plains was given multiple free throws and made multiple successful drives, which gave them a substantial lead. Plains continued to rack up points and by the 4:00 minute mark led the way 53 to 44.

The Horsemen continued to climb as the Heat tried to catch up, but eventually the Horsemen had such a strong lead that it became evident the Horsemen were going to take the win. By the end, the Horsemen finished with 65, the Heat finished with 50 points.

The top scorers for the Horsemen were, Ryan Ovitt 16, Kyle Revier 17 and Aaron Baker made 15.

For Hot Springs, Trevor Paro scored 16 points, Sam Hoff with 12 and Lane Foster with 8.

“In the first quarter when we started out against them, they were scoring and hitting some shots, so we got behind, but our kids knew if they kept working, working, working, that we could catch them and that’s what we did”, said Coach Benson.

“Tonight we started out pretty well... the third quarter was the changer for us... all around I think my boys did pretty good”, explained Coach Depoe.