Hot Springs, Superior clash in showdown

These were two games local basketball fans likely had circled on their sports calendars: Hot Springs boys and girls versus Superior boys and girls.

When all was said and done, the youth of Superior were up to the challenge against two tough Savage Heat teams on the Bobcats home court this past Thursday. 

The Lady Bobcats won their end of the double-header, 46-34, while the Bobcats boys bested Hot Springs 51-43, with both games hard-fought matchups between two top area teams. 

In the girls’ half of the night, Superior, with an underclassman dominated roster, jumped out to a 14-7 lead after one quarter of play as sophomore guard Josie Crabb had six points and senior Braelyn Mangold chipped in four to get the Lady Cats off to a fast start. 

The second quarter was a back-and-forth battle between two solid defenses, with Superior outscoring Hot Springs 12-9 to take a 26-16 halftime lead.  Makenzie Reum had five points for the Lady Bobcats as they outscored the Lady Heat 13-6 to build a 39-22 advantage into the fourth quarter. 

But the Lady Heat showed they were not done yet, led by French foreign exchange student Lilia Sapanel, who had eight points in the fourth quarter. 

However, the Superior lead was too much to overcome as the Cats held on for the 46-34 win. 

“My girls came alive in the fourth quarter,” said Hot Springs coach Richard Jackson. “We went to battle with a very physical team, and we played well,” he said. “If we had started the game the way we finished it would have been a different outcome.  We had too many missed opportunities”. 

Sapanel led the Lady Heat with a season-high 15 points. Teammate Kara Christensen added nine for Hot Springs. 

Mangold scored 15 to pace Superior, while Reum tossed in 11 for the winners. 

In the boys contest, Hot Springs raced to a 17-6 lead after the first quarter behind the shooting by freshman Chase Depoe.  Superior fought back in the second quarter, outscoring the Heat 12-8 to create a 25-18 halftime lead for Hot Springs. 

Superior increased their defensive pressure in the third quarter, holding Hot Springs to six points while scoring 13 of their own to trim seven points off the halftime lead, setting up a 31-31 tie heading into the final eight minutes of regulation in a game that looked like it had overtime written all over it. 

But Superior sophomore guard Gannon Quinlan erupted for seven fourth quarter points as the Bobcats outscored the Heat 20-12 in the fourth quarter to pull away for the 51-43 edge. 

In what was widely regarded as a matchup between 6-4 post players Nick McAllister of Hot Springs and Superior 6-4 sophomore Landon Richards, and while both big men played well, it was the smaller guards who had the biggest impact. 

Depoe had a game-high 19 points for Hot Springs, including five treys.  Quinlan led Superior with 13 points. Meanwhile, McAllister had seven points for the Heat and Richards had 12 for Superior. 

Superior senior Triztan Avilla added 10 for the Cats. 

The win upped Superior’s record to 2-1 on the year, while Hot Springs slipped to 1-1.   The Heat played at Philipsburg Saturday and won 62-52 to push their season mark to 2-1. 

Hot Springs hosts Plains tonight (12-17) in boys' and girls' action, then host Valley Christian this Friday (Dec 20) in their final game before the Christmas break. 

Superior, meanwhile, hosts Darby this Friday, then travels to Charlo Saturday to close out the pre-break schedule.