Hot Springs teams bury Prospectors

The trip to Philipsburg was a good one for the Hot Springs boys' and girls' basketball teams as the Savage Heat boys tripped up the host Prospectors 62-52 and the Hot Springs girls downed the Lady Prospectors in a thriller, 54-52.

The Lady Heat got a game-high 26 points from standout junior Kara Christensen in their win in Philipsburg this past Saturday. 

Christensen had nine first quarter points to help the Lady Heat forge a narrow, 20-16 first quarter lead.  However, Philipsburg roared back in the second quarter, outscoring Hot Springs 15-10 to capture a slim, 31-30 halftime lead. 

The Lady Prospectors stretched their lead to 44-38 after three quarters of play. 

In the fourth quarter, Christensen spearheaded a Hot Springs comeback by duplicating her first quarter scoring as Hot Springs erased the Philipsburg lead and hung on for a 54-52 victory. 

The narrow win pleased Hot Springs coach Richard Jackson. 

“We played our best game of the season,” he said.  “It was a great conference win.”

In addition to Christensen’s 26 points, the Lady Heat got nine points each from forwards Lilia Sapanel and Brooke Jackson. 

The Hot Springs boys also fell behind early against the Prospectors, trailing 17-12 at the end of the first quarter.  And as was the case with the girls, the Savage Heat were down at the half, 31-24. 

But Hot Springs outscored Philipsburg 16-11behind five points from senior Weston Slonaker to cut the Prospectors lead to 42-40 with one quarter left in regulation. 

Up stepped freshman Chase Depot, who had a pair of three-pointers in the first half, as he erupted for three treys in the fourth quarter and had 11 total points to lead a Hot Springs rally that put them up 60-49 with 1:20 left in the game. 

Hot Springs held on for the 10-point (62-52) win, upping their record to 2-1 on the year. 

Depoe had 18 points to lead the Savage Heat, who also got 16 from Slonaker. 

Both Hot Springs teams will be home tonight (Dec 17) for a pair of games against Class B Plains. They close out their pre-break schedule Thursday with a 13C conference home game against Valley Christian. 

Savage Heat head coach Mike Benson had high praise for his freshman guard after the game. 

“He has no fear, he’s just a cold-blooded shooter,” Benson said of Depoe. “As he gets better on defense, he’s going to be a problem for teams.”