Hot Springs tops Superior in conference play

Here's the Superior boys vs Hot Springs write-up, pictures will be coming from Kami sometime this morning.

One thing coaches will agree on, probably unanimously, is that “re-building” years are often no fun.

And when a top team meets a struggling rebuilder, it can get downright ugly.

Saturday night in Hot Springs was just such a scenario as the home town Savage Heat scorched visiting Superior 61-21 in a game that was not as close as the final score might indicate.

For Superior, which has just one senior on a roster that features five juniors and four seniors, meeting one of the Western 14C conference co-leaders was not a pleasant thing.

For the visiting Bobcats, things got unpleasant in a hurray.

Hot Springs, which features four seniors, including a foreign exchange student from Russia and two of the best players in the conference, now might be the best chance they have at capturing a conference championship.

And with seniors Kyle Lawson and Jack McAllister leading the way, that may happen soon.

McAllister, the constantly-in-motion 5-11 senior, erupted for 11 first quarter points to pace the Savage Heat to a 21-2 lead. Superior managed only a single two-pointer from their leading scorer Orion Plaake as the frenetic Heat defense stifled every offensive opportunity.

And after scoring a two-pointer in the opening seconds of quarter number two, the Superior defense went to work and limited the visiting Bobcats to just four total second quarter points.

In the meantime, Hot Springs, which is unbeaten in conference play and 4-1 on the year overall, got points from a variety of sources, including transfer junior Garth Parker, who has added inside scoring and rebounding punch to the lineup since coming to town from Plains.

And the Heat are getting outstanding energy on both ends of the court from 6-1 junior forward Nathan Lawhead, who helped Hot Springs achieve rebounding domination throughout the game.

Leading 35-6 at halftime, Hot Springs continued to press and trap the visiting Bobcats into submission. The Savage Heat outscored their guests 12-4 in quarter number three, with McAllister and Lawson leading the surge. Heading into the final eight minutes of play, Hot Springs was in total command by a 52-10 score and the Montana 40-plus points Mercy Rule was in effect.

With reserves dominating the playing minutes, Superior did manage to outscore their hosts 11-9 over the final eight minutes but it was way too little, way too late.

The loss dropped the young Bobcats to 1-6 overall and 1-2 in 14C conference games. Their only victory of the year so far came against Two Eagle River, which picked up its first win of the year by beating Noxon this past week.

Superior played a home game against the league’s other co-leader, St. Regis, this past Monday night. The Bobcats travel to Charlo this Thursday evening to take on the Vikings, then return home for a game against non-conference foe Troy on Friday.

Hot Springs, which will be awaiting word on a rescheduled meeting with St. Regis, plays at Plains tonight (Jan 11), then has a home encounter Saturday night with Charlo.